Battle Scars
by Audrey Rhey
Summary: Natsu is nearly too late to save his love and closest rival from a dark wizard. When Lucy falls victim to a deadly infection, Natsu struggles to get her back and help Gray recover while an even more sinister opponent approaches. M for violence, language, death, and NALU LEMONS.
1. Line Magic

**A/N: So, I have a few chapters of this story written already so I decided to go ahead and post the first chapter.**

 **I hope to update about once a week or so. This first chapter is a bit gruesome. It's rated M for a reason. There will be lemons and more potential gore in this story's future, so be please be sure you are mature enough to handle this. I don't own Fairytail. =[**

 **Feel free to leave a review with any suggestions. =] Enjoy.**

Lucy stared down at her body, unable to move anything above her neck. It was the darkest of magic that had her trapped, something she had never seen before. Her cast her eyes to her left, trying to see Gray. He was grunting, straining to move the same as her. Neither of their attempts yielded results.

"Now who should I start with?" The dark wizard's voice rang through the old stone room. Dead vines rotted on the walls and the whole room reeked of death. If that wasn't bad enough, there seemed to be a pile of corpses just pass the tilted table the ice mage was strapped to. Lucy's eyes shot forward to face the wizard.

"Me, start with me." She whimpered, wishing she could reach her keys. The wizard had confiscated them and attached them to the belt of his ragged black pants. The two had been ambushed, the spell cast on them before they even knew what was happening.

"An eager volunteer." He hissed from beneath his hood, stretching his bony hand out towards her. "It's not often I have a willing subject."

"You leave her alone!" Gray yelled, drawing the attention of the dark wizard. Lucy watched as his whole body tensed

"Don't worry. You'll get your turn too." His head jerked to the side eerily fast.

"You don't fuck with fairytail." Gray warned, glaring at him with unrivaled hatred.

The dark wizard took a step towards him, drawing a hematic line down his front with his finger. Lucy watched as Gray inhaled sharply. From what she could see it was only a line. Why would he be drawing lines? The hooded wizard slowly drew more lines across Gray's abs, making direct eye contact with the ice-make mage. Gray refused to break his stare, refusing to even blink.

"Don't hurt him!" Lucy screamed, watching a vicious smile spread across his face.

"Don't worry. He won't feel a thing." The wizard chuckled darkly. "For now at least." He backed away from Gray and picked up what looked like a pair of salad tongs. It sent an odd feeling through her.

"Gray." Lucy whimpered, trying to figure out the crimson red marks outlining Grays abs. She watched as the ice mage allowed himself to close his eyes for a moment.

"I'm okay Lucy." He assured her, turning his head to catch her eyes. She could see the fear in them.

"Natsu will be here soon." She said, reassuring herself as much as she was him. If she knew Natsu at all, she knew he wouldn't stop until she was safe. Where was he? "And Happy and Erza. They'll come find us any moment."

"In that case, I'll need to take care of you too princess." The wizard stated, ripping Lucy's shirt open with ease. Lucy concentrated, trying to force herself to move. The effort was useless. She looked up, finally able to get a good look at him under his hood. His eyes were small and lifeless, black as night. It wasn't the room that smelled like death, it was him. She swallowed to keep from gagging as he ran his finger along her stomach.

"You're much softer than him." He hissed, reaching up to her breasts. "But I don't have time for that now. I'm not actually terribly worried about your little fairy friends getting in though. This place is sealed magically."

"Bastard." Gray swore, watching as he turned and walked away from them. "You're not going to lay a hand on Lucy!"

"I'll start with you first then." The dark wizard reasoned, walking over to Gray with the tongs. He whispered something inaudible under his breath, smiling deviously, and snapped his fingers. Lucy watched in horror as the lines drawn on Gray's abdomen cut into him. The skin and muscle rolled away from him sickeningly, exposing his internal organs.

"Gray." Lucy gasped, watching him in horror. "Gray, no. Gray look at me." She urged him, choking as she tried to keep from vomiting.

"I'm okay." He whispered, his eyes wide with shock. "It-it doesn't hurt." He assured her, staring at her face.

The smell of blood hit her like a ton of bricks in the stomach. She involuntarily leaned forward, heaving her lunch onto the floor. "Oh Gods," she whispered, snapping her eyes shut. This couldn't be happening. Where was Natsu?

"No, you're going to watch." The dark wizard spoke, staring at her now. She screeched as she felt him drawing lines over her eye lids. The sound of fingers snapping rang in her ears, forcing the lids of her eyes to open. With every ounce of courage she had she stared him in the eyes.

"You're sick." She proclaimed, trying again to force her limbs to move. They didn't so much as twitch. Now she knew why the straps holding her to the table were so loose. There was no possible escape.

"I'll show you just how sick I am." He offered, snapping his fingers once again, this time only inches from her face.

Her head rolled back as she desperately tried to close her eyes. She felt the flesh of her belly separating, making a sickeningly wet sound. She felt her skin and muscle roll back against her, leaving her exposed. It was the weirdest sensation she had ever experienced in her life. There was no pain to it, but she could feel exactly what was happening in intense detail. Cold seemed to fill her entire body, a chill coming from deep inside of her. It made her body shake against her will.

"Lucy." He mouthed, apparently unable to form words. Sweat streamed down the sides of his pale face.

The dark wizard walked away from her and stood in front of Gray with a knife and a pair of tongs.

"Let's see how long the human body can stay alive with severe trauma without pain." The wizard said, his voice eerily cheerful. "I already have an idea with regular humans, but I have a suspicion wizards can last much longer."

Lucy swallowed, trying not to throw up again. That must have been what the pile behind Gray on the floor was. The celestial wizard's eyes s watered from being forced open, kind of like the rest of her. She choked back a laugh, trying to picture Natsu's face. Surely he would be here to save them soon.

"I was hoping to try this on a dragon slayer first, but an ice mage will do to start, and a celestial wizard." He hummed, tossing something bloody to the side of Gray. Lucy couldn't help but wonder if it was a kidney. This evil man wouldn't get to Natsu, he couldn't. Natsu was way too strong.

"I'm so sorry Gray." Lucy called out. This was all her fault. She was the one who decided they should split up to look for Wendy. She and Natsu had been in a little fight, so he took off with happy. Surely Erza, off on her own, would find them if Natsu couldn't. What if the dark wizard had found Wendy before they did? No, that couldn't be true. He had said he wanted to try it on a dragon slayer first, but couldn't. That gave her a little hope.

"I'm not sure-" She heard Gray choke. Probably on blood, she couldn't help but think. "I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to make it. Please-" He coughed again, even more violently. "Tell everyone I'm sorry. I'm sorry I-" His voice faded out.

"Gray!" She screamed, watching as the dark wizard turned towards her.

"He's just unconscious from shock." He offered, that sick smile still playing across his face. "He'll get another turn soon, very soon. For now it's your turn."

"Please don't." She sobbed, looking up at the ceiling so that she wouldn't see what was going on. "You don't have to do this." There was so much she hadn't done yet.

"You're right, I don't have to," He hissed. "But I want to."

Lucy felt something snap inside her, probably a rib. Tears streamed down both sides of her face. She might never see her love again. Would this really be the way she ended? Another snap. There couldn't be a worse way to go.

"Make it quick." She pleaded. Even though she couldn't feel the pain, she would rather be dead than experience this. He'd only just started on her. She couldn't fathom how terrified Gray must have been.

"If that's what you want, I'm afraid I need to take a short break." The dark wizard announced, backing away from her.

"Why are you doing this?" She sobbed.

"Because I can." He said simply as his eyes returned to Gray. A large explosion burst on the opposite side of the room. Smoke and dust flew through the air. She watched as Gray's body convulse in a fit of coughing.

"Get away from them you bastard!" Natsu screamed, his voice filling the entire room.

"Natsu." Lucy cried, catching sight of her boyfriend.

Natsu glanced over at Lucy then dove toward the dark wizard, unable to stop himself. No one messed with Lucy or his rival Gray. There would be no mercy for him from Natsu. "Dragon Slayer Roar!" He growled, feet from the dark wizard's face.

The dark wizard collapsed, instantly set ablaze. He flailed around on the ground as Erza pinned him down.

Natsu turned his attention to Lucy, his fury changing into worry as he looked at her. How could she survive something like this?

"Natsu-" She croaked from the tilted table.

"Fuck-" He said, unable to get his words clear. "Lucy. Oh fuck, Lucy."

"Natsu." She murmured, a small smile forming on her lips as she shivered.

"Wendy!" Natsu called. "Get over here. Lucy needs your help!"

"Gray." Lucy ordered, shifting her eyes to him. "He needs help worse."

Natsu turned to see his rival, spread out in pieces on the table. He had noticed Lucy first, and had been too enraged and worried to notice anything else. Natsu wasn't sure if he could even still be alive.

"Let me help Gray." Wendy called out. "If I don't get this bleeding to stop he's not going to make it.

"The wizard's magic, he made us not feel pain. It was an experiment-" Lucy choked on her words and screamed as the dark wizard faded from life.

"Lucy." Natsu gasped, placing his hand on her face. "You're going to be okay. I promise. I will take care of you."

"Hurts." Lucy panted, her shaking arm reaching for Natsu's.

"Close your eyes." He ordered. "Just hold on Lucy. You're going to be okay."

"Natsu!" Wendy called. "I need you to help. I need you to burn this shut or he's going to bleed to death." She pleaded.

He looked down at Lucy with a pained expression. He couldn't leave her, but he couldn't let Gray die.

"Go." She croaked, her eyes fluttering open. "He needs you." She whispered, before passing out. Probably from the pain, Natsu reasoned.

"Natsu!" Wendy yelled.

He rushed over to her. It was the most gruesome scene he had seen in his short life. He was covered in blood from the neck down and even a small amount had splattered up onto his face. It was hard for Natsu to tell where he started and ended.

"Here! It's just a nick, but he's had it for too long." Wendy urged him, pointing to a pool of blood forming towards the top of his chest. She moved her hand down to what Natsu thought was the top of his leg. Natsu reached his hand down and created a flame, trying not to look. "Perfect. And here." She whispered, her hands shaking over him. The poor girl was too young to see something like this. He cauterized the wound.

"You need to go to Lucy." Wendy said. "She's not in as bad of shape as Gray, but she's going to go into shock. You need to-" She swallowed hard. "Close her up as best you can. Don't burn her, just-" She stuttered. "Just put things where their supposed to go until Happy and Erza come back with help."

The poor girl looked like she was going to be sick.

"Okay." Natsu nodded.

"Lucy, you're going to be okay." He told his unconscious girlfriend as he carefully tried to close her wounds. "You have to be."

Natsu removed his scarf, the one his father had given him and slowly slid it under her. He carefully folded it over her, using it as a bandage. He said a silent prayer that Igneel's scarf would protect her. He placed a small kiss on her forehead, trying to ignore the smell of blood filling the room. How could he have let this happen? Why did they have to get in a stupid fight? He should have been with her.


	2. Recovery

**A/N: Unfortunately, I don't own fairytail. Enjoy this chapter lovelies.**

"You're here." Lucy whispered softly, smiling up at her love. Thunder crackled outside her hospital window, casting yellow light on the off-green walls. She blinked open her tired eyes, giving Natsu's hand a tight squeeze. The last thing she remembered was an oxygen mask being shoved over her face. The thought of what came before that sent chills down her spine.

"I'm glad to see you awake." Natsu said, tightening his grip on her hand. She could tell by the look him his eyes, her dragon slayer had been crying.

"How's Gray?" She asked, attempting to sit up. Pain ripped through her body, from her chest to her pelvis. She groaned in pain, deciding it wasn't worth trying. The celestial wizard couldn't remember the last time she'd felt something that bad.

"Lucy, don't move. I can go get the nurse to get you some more pain medication. I know you've got to be hurting." He said, his voice full of worry. He reached up and pressed a red button on the wall.

"You didn't answer my question." She moaned, stilling herself on the bed. She needed to know how he was, and she needed to know now.

"He's in surgery." Natsu said, searching her chocolate brown eyes.

"Is he okay?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know yet. He's been in and out of surgery since we got here. Gray lost a lot of blood and there was a lot of damage. We don't know anything yet." Natsu admitted, lowing his head as Happy flew in behind him. He had been out in the hall, telling the nurses about Carla.

"It's all my fault." Lucy frowned, pain clouding her vision. Despite it, she could see the worry in Natsu's eyes. It deepened significantly when she mentioned Gray.

"Don't be silly Lucy." Natsu leaned up and kissed her on the forehead. She felt warm to him, which was unusual for the dragon slayer. His worried look intensified.

"What is it?" She mumbled, straining to retain consciousness.

"You feel hot. I'm going to go get a nurse. They should have been here by now anyway. What if it was a serious emergency?" He grumbled. Patience had never been one of her dragon slayer's strong suits. "Happy, keep her company."

"Aye." Happy nodded, landing on the bed beside her.

"Hey you stupid cat." Lucy said, shifting her arm to give him more room. She winced as a small pain shot across her ribcage.

"Carefully Lucy," His voice squeaked. "You've got some broken ribs."

"Believe it or not, I can tell."

A memory jumped to the front of her mind, the nightmare playing across her thoughts. The look on Gray's face as the wizard disemboweled him would be forever burned into her memory.

"Gray." She gasped, remembering his body opened up on the table.

"Lucy?" Happy asked, placing his paw on her forearm.

"I think I'm going to be sick." She admitted, closing her eyes.

"Careful. You really shouldn't move." He reasoned. "You were hurt pretty badly."

"Trust me." She shuddered. "I remember."

Happy frowned at her. "Do you want me to go make Natsu come back? I don't know how to make you feel better, unless you want fish. Fish always makes me feel better."

Lucy swallowed hard. "Don't talk about food, stupid cat."

"How are you feeling Ms. Heartfilla?" A man in a white coat asked, walking in the room in front of Natsu.

"Nauseated." She said, closing her eyes.

"Well, we can give you something for that." He looked at her pained expression. "And a little something more for your pain."

"Thank you." Lucy replied as Natsu took her hand gingerly to avoid bumping her I.v.

The doctor waved an instrument over Lucy's forehead and frowned. "It seems you have a little fever. It's likely from all of the trauma, but I'm going to put you on a round of antibiotics to be on the safe side."

"Good. You better take care of her Doc." Natsu said, his eyes not leaving his girlfriend.

"She's in good hands. I assure you." He said, injecting a vial into her Iv. Line.

"I just woke up, but I'm already tired." She yawned, her eyelids fluttering.

"Well, the pain medication I have you will make you sleep." He stated, pushing another vial of medicine into the I.v. "And this is the antibiotic. You should be feeling better soon."

"Thanks." She mumbled, lazily looking up at Natsu.

"You rest Luce." He encouraged, gently stoking the blonde hair back from her face. Little stray hairs were matted to her forehead with sweat.

"Natsu?" She asked, remembering all the places she had been cut open. "Do I look like a monster now?"

Natsu smiled gently, his mouth tightening to hold back a small laugh. "No, you look like my beautiful Lucy."

"Don't lie idiot."

"You're going to be okay Lucy." He reasoned, giving her a crooked smile.

"Only because you saved me."

Natsu flinched at her words. If he'd gotten there earlier, she wouldn't be in this bad of shape, and neither would Gray. The thought made his smile fade. He had his doubts that Gray would even survive. From what he understood, several of his internal organs were beyond repair, and the blood flow to his leg had been cut off for a long time. He couldn't let Lucy know that yet though. She needed to recover more before getting bad news.

"I'm going to go get a bite to eat. I'm starving." Natsu said, not wanting Lucy to see him upset. "If that's okay."

"Silly dragon." She yawned. "Go eat. I'm not going anywhere."

"I love you Lucy." He whispered the words for the first time. Natsu had always assumed that she had known, how could she not?

She hummed happily in response, quickly welcoming sleep.

Natsu walked out into the intensive care hallway, leaving Happy with Lucy. Someone else would likely be along to take his place soon. The whole building smelled disgusting to him, like bleach and sickness. It was utterly repulsive. For Lucy it was worth enduring, and for Gray. He walked over to the elevator and paused. It was likely to set off his motion sickness. Just as he decided to take the stairs, the elevator doors opened. A pair of nurses rolled a cot out of the elevator. Natsu's frown deepened as he saw Gray on the cot. The ice mage looked weaker than Natsu had ever seen him. It was as though there was no life left in him, his body perfectly still. There were what seemed like endless tubes hooked up to him.

"Excuse me sir." The nurse ordered. "We need to get this man into recovery."

"Is-" Natsu swallowed. Gray was so pale his skin was nearly translucent. "Is he okay? I'm from Fairytail, his guild."

"I can't say anything." She frowned, trying to urge him along. "A doctor will be out to talk to his loved ones soon. You can wait in the recovery waiting room with the rest of them."

"Gray." He frowned, staring at him. "You better be okay, you ice bastard."

"Sir, move." The nurse ordered curtly.

"Sorry." Natsu mumbled uncharacteristically and stepped aside. How could he let his teammates get injured so badly? It was the ultimate betrayal. His heart filled with shame. Would Gray and Lucy ever forgive him?

Natsu dragged his feet down the hall into the recovery waiting room. The room was oddly quiet for a room filled with Fairytail wizards. No one was fighting, no one was drinking, not a word was being spoken. The only noise in the room was Levy softly sobbing in the corner, a certain iron dragon slayer rubbing her back awkwardly. The hospital's stall had already forced Juvia to leave earlier that day, which explained the storm outside.

"How is Lucy?" Levy asked, removing a tissue from her face.

"She's sleeping, but she's okay considering. Happy is with her. You can go see her if you'd like."

Natsu said, his mind elsewhere. Levy nodded and exited the room.

"What about Gray, Natsu?" Mirajane asked, her concern evident on her face.

Natsu shook his head and sat down in the chair nearest the door. He placed his head in his hands, exhausted from the past couple of days. "I don't know." He admitted. "They said a doctor will be out to talk to us soon."

"I hope he's okay." Wendy's small voice came from behind Mira.

"Wendy, why are you still here?" Natsu asked, looking up.

"She wouldn't leave until she found out if Gray was okay or not." Erza sighed, catching Natsu's eye. Her armor was still covered in blood. She hadn't left the hospital yet either apparently. Natsu frowned as he saw the pained expression on her face. They both looked like they had aged years over night, although Wendy retained her small stature.

"Wendy, you need to rest. You have to be drained from healing Gray." Natsu suggested.

"I have been sleeping on and off here." She admitted, a small tear running down her little cheek. "I can't seem to stay awake. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Erza said, patting her on the head awkwardly. "There's nothing to be sorry about."

A tall, pale man wearing scrubs walked into the room, a surgical cap wadded up in one of his hands. "Are you here for Gray Fullbuster?" He asked, looking around the room with a solemn face. Normally the waiting room was limited to three visitors per patient, but no one had called the guild out on it yet.

Natsu rushed to his feet and answered. "Yeah. That's us. How is he Doc?"

"You may want to sit down." He admitted, looking at Natsu with a sad expression. Natsu realized he likely still had a bit of blood on him too. Natsu leaned against the wall, refusing to sit down. Sitting down meant bad news.

"Mr Fullbuster has suffered severe internal injuries, the extent of which, we still aren't completely certain about. He lost a kidney, his spleen, and a large amount of his intestines." The doctor paused, scanning the room. "His left leg suffered a immense amount of damage. That, combined with the amount of time it was without blood flow caused it to die. We were unable to save it."

Natsu hung his head in shame. What if him cauterizing the wound on his leg was what lost Gray his leg? He had never done something like that before. What if he had completely screwed up? The guild would never forgive him.

"He's in critical condition. We don't know anything for certain yet." He turned to Wendy sitting in the corner. "Are you the young healer that worked on him before the emergency healers got there?"

"Yes." She squeaked, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"He's lucky you were there. Without you he wouldn't have made it. Cauterizing those bleeds was a smart move."

"I didn't-" she began to say but stopped, looking over to Natsu.

"Can he have visitors?" Natsu asked, looking up at the doctor. Gray would need a familiar face there when he woke up. Hopefully someone in the guild had thought to contact Lyon.

"He can have one at a time." The doctor frowned again. "I warn you though, he is unconscious now, but if he wakes up he will be in a lot of pain, mentally as much as physically. We have him on the best pain killers in Fiore, but he's suffered a severe amount of trauma and his condition is still very unstable."

"He'll pull through." Natsu reasoned. "He's one of the strongest people I know."

"Good, he'll need to be. He's more than likely going to need a few more surgeries to repair the damage done."

"He's strong." Erza said in agreement. "He'll pull through, I'm sure of it."

"I'm sure he'll be okay." Mirajane nodded.

"He's manly." Elfman announced from beside his sister. "And men are strong!"

"Juvia would kill him if he didn't pull through." Someone else called, just as thunder crackled outside.

"Somebody better go tell her." Mirajane stated, standing up. "The rest of the guild needs an update too."

The doctor turned and left the room, mumbling something about over-enthusiastic wizards.

"I'll stay here, with Gray until someone else gets here." Natsu offered. "Make sure Lyon knows. I'm sure Gray would want him here."

"That's a good idea." Mirajane nodded in agreement.

"Send someone back soon though, so I can go be with Lucy if she wakes back up."

"We'll try to send Juvia if they'll let her back in. Apparently she shorted the circuits in one of the waiting rooms with her flood of tears." Erza said, looking Natsu over carefully. "Are you sure your okay Natsu?"

"I will be as soon as I know our team is going to be okay." He decided, hoping that moment was soon. "This is the place I need to be right now.

Gray's hospital room was loud, filled with the sounds from the machines hooked up to him. Natsu looked him over carefully, trying to judge the extend of the damage on his own scale. An oxygen mask covered his mouth, but there were no tubes there. That was a good sign at least, right? He slowly sat down in a black fold up chair sitting beside Gray's bed. Natsu looked up at Gray's heart rate monitor. The beeping was steady, but slow. That had to mean his heart wasn't working too hard, right? His eyes fell on his legs, an empty space where one of them abruptly ended. His stomach turned. If he had gone to Gray in the first place, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Lucy had needed him though and he could never turn her down. Natsu couldn't help but wonder how Lucy would react to Gray losing his leg. Would she feel the same guilt that Natsu did?

Gray would probably blame Natsu for this if he knew. Despite their rivalry, Natsu deeply cared for the ice mage. Seeing his broken body took a toll on him. He had never seen Gray in such bad shape, even after their numerous battles.

"Gray-" Natsu's voice cracked. He hadn't realized he was crying. "You're going to be okay. You've got this. You're a Fairytail wizard and Fairytail wizards don't give up."

Only the noise from Gray's machines answered. It was worse than no answer at all.

"Besides, you're going to want to kick my ass for not getting there sooner, Popsicle pants. You can't do that unless you get better!" Natsu firmly grasped his shoulder, staring down at him.

A small groan came from Gray's lips. Natsu carefully watched for more of a reaction, but received none. Maybe it was better he stayed asleep for now anyway. That would give his body more of a chance to recover.

"Any change?" Lyon asked, dropping the temperature of the room as he walked in.

"None yet." Natsu admitted, dropping his hand from the ice mage's shoulder. "He'll be glad you're here when he wakes up."

"You can go be with Lucy now." Lyon said, his eyes on his brother.

"Thanks." He mumbled, unsure he could face her.

 **A/N: So, little Nalu lemon next chapter. =]**


	3. I Love You

**A/N: Okay, so the first half of this was fun to write.**

 **Oh Natsu, what are we going to do with you? Silly Dragon.**

 **I don't own fairytail, but if I did, I would still be writing fan fiction in disguise.**

Natsu gently pushed her back onto the bed, pressing his heated body against hers. The smell of her arousal filled the air, making Natsu grip the headboard to stay in control. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. She moaned lightly against his lips, her hands trailing up his chiseled abs. The soft skin of her delicate hand felt cool against his heated body.

"Natsu." She gasped as he pulled away. He stared down at her, lost in the depths of her eyes. "Natsu, I want you."

He inhaled sharply, pressing his hardened arousal against her thigh. There were just four thin layers of cloth between them. "You're not ready." He mumbled, running his hand down her side., tracing small circles in her skin.

"I am. Natsu, please." She begged, grinding against the growing bulge in his pants.

"You told me earlier today that you weren't." He argued, groaning as he pulled away. It was hard enough for him to keep his self control without her practically begging. "That's too quick for a change of heart."

"I am now Natsu, I was just scared."

He frowned at her. "You never have to be scared with me Lucy. I'll always protect you, and I'll never hurt you." He would give anything if it meant that she would be safe, even at the risk of his own life. Nothing could ever change that.

"I know." Lucy whispered, her hand catching the waist band of Natsu's pants. She pushed them down, leaving only three layers between them. That was one less than usual. Natsu moaned at the thought. "I just don't want to change things yet."

"See, you're not ready." Natsu sighed, laying down beside her instead of on top of her. "I don't want anything you're not ready for."

"You don't want me?" Her voice came across worried, as if the dragon slayer could possibly not want her.

"There is nothing I would love more right now than to ravage you right here on this bed. I know you Luce, I know you're not ready for this and I respect that." He said, cupping her flushed face with his hand.

"Are you ready?" Lucy asked, grabbing the bulge in Natsu's boxers. It felt amazing, just knowing it was her touching him.

Natsu closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. "I've been ready for this, almost since the day I met you." He admitted, unable to resist the urge to press into her hand.

"We can still do something though, right?" She smiled, running her hand up to the waist band of his boxers. "Just not sex?"

"Do you really want that Lucy?"

"Please." She said, tugging down his boxers until his manhood sprang free. She gasped, looking at his size.

"Fuck." He gasped as she leaned down, licking just the tip with her tongue. This was the last thing he had expected to happen today. He leaned his head back, moaning at the sensation as she took him into her mouth. It was too much.

"Lucy, stop." He ordered, pulling back from her.

"Is something wrong?" She frowned, looking up at him.

"No, you're amazing. I just want to take care of you first." He admitted. "If that's okay, I mean."

"That's fine." She said, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Don't worry Luce, I'll take care of you." He smiled, running his rough, warm hand up the inside of her thigh.

"Do you want me to take these off?" She gestured to her skirt, and Natsu assumed her panties.

A mischievous grin spread across his face. "No, leave them on. I'm going to make you cum in your panties." He said, wondering if he'd be able to resist one less layer between the two.

"Natsu." She gasped as he toughed the panties to the side with his rough fingers. She was already soaked. The smell hit him hard, causing his already throbbing erection to grow.

"You're soaked Luce." He whispered huskily as he ran a single finger up between her folds. She wiggled her hips on the bed, trying to encourage him. The pink haired wizard had never seen her so impatient.

"Mmm." She hummed, closing her eyes.

Natsu slipped a finger inside easily. He reached his thumb up and circled her clit, something he'd heard Cana talking about in a drunken rant. Lucy gasped at the sensation.

"Is that okay?" He asked, working his thumb and finger simultaneously.

She moaned in response, her manicured fingernails grasping at the bedsheets. Natsu slipped another finger inside of her, watching for a response. Her back arched off the bed, her slender body trembling.

"Faster." She whispered, looking up at her boyfriend.

Natsu started working his fingers in and out of her faster, watching as she gripped his free arm with her hand. He grinned as he felt her walls closing tight around his fingers. He leaned down and sucked on her neck as she finished, leaving a small hickey at the base of her neck.

"That was amazing." She whispered in his ear, wrapping her shaking arms around him.

"I'm glad." He replied, kissing her forehead.

"I love you Natsu."

"I-" He swallowed, choking on his words.

Natsu woke up with his face stuck to the side of Lucy's hospital bed, her hand tangled in his unkempt salmon hair. She must have woken up sometime during the night and not wanted to wake him. He sat up, lightly placing her hand beside her. She looked peaceful. Natsu looked around the room. The room was dark except for the glow of Lucy's heart rate monitor and light from the hallway.

Natsu caught a scent of something he hadn't smelled before. It was mixed with the scent of Lucy. He looked her over carefully, watching her chest fall and rise in rapid succession. Something was wrong. He glanced at the call button on the wall, deciding that wouldn't be fast enough.

Natsu ran to the nurses station, earning a scolding as he approached.

"You can't run in the halls Sir." The nurse stated, shifting some paper's on the counter.

"My girlfriend, she smells weird. I think something is wrong." He said in a rushed voice.

"She smells weird?" The nurse cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Just, trust me, okay?" He said. "I need help."

"I'll be right there." She sighed, looking down at her paperwork.

"Now." He growled, growing furious.

"I'm coming." She said, starting down the hall. All the nurses on the floor were fed up with him already for refusing to leave when visiting hours ended.

Natsu watched the expression on the nurses face as she checked on Lucy. "Her blood pressure was a little low when we checked on her during rounds about a half hour ago. The blood work hasn't come back yet and it's likely to be a few more hours at least." She said, picking up Lucy's chart. "She's already on broad spectrum antibiotics in case of infection."

Natsu watched as the nurse took Lucy's temperature. The annoyed look on her face quickly changed to a look of concern. "She's running a fever now, actually. A high one. It shouldn't be this high with all the medication she's on. I'm going to go page the doctor." She offered him a half smile. "A doctor will be here to see her as soon as possible."

Natsu looked down at his girlfriend, a sinking feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. He pressed a small kiss to her forehead. She was so hot it nearly burned his lips. He pulled away and looked down at her. Her arms and hands were shaking lightly, like she had been out in the cold too long. Natsu took one of her hands in his, offering a silent prayer for her well-being.

"I'm so sorry Luce." He mumbled into her hand. "I promised I'd always take care of you and I didn't. I failed you. Please just be okay."

His plea earned no response.

A new doctor walked into the room, telling the nurse who accompanied him to check Lucy's blood pressure.  
"It's low doctor." The nurse said, trying not to make eye contact with Natsu.

"How low?" He asked, pulling the bandage covering Lucy's stomach. Natsu looked away, unable to handle the thought of seeing her like that again. The nurse showed him the number on the display of her magic blood pressure meter.

"She's in septic shock." He decided, turning to Natsu.

"But she was going to be okay an hour ago. What's that mean?" Natsu pleaded, refusing to let go of Lucy's hand.

"She's got a bad infection. We're going to have to take her back into surgery to try and get as much of it out as we can." The doctor said grimly, replacing Lucy's bandage.

"She's going to be okay, right?" Natsu demanded, refusing to believe otherwise.

"We need to get her into surgery as soon as possible. I'm going to have to ask you to leave the room. The sooner you leave, the sooner we can help her." The doctor said, silencing Natsu before he could protest.

"I love you Lucy Heartfilla." He whispered, bending down to kiss her forehead before he left. Lucy would be okay, she had to be.

He walked out of the hospital with the intention of finding Wendy. Maybe somehow she would be able to help, even if she was drained. Maybe he could somehow lend her some of his magic reserve to heal Lucy.

"Hey, wait up Natsu." A voice called after him.

"Huh?" He asked, spinning around to see Lyon standing there smoking a cigarette.

"Where are you headed in such a rush?" Lyon asked, tossing his still lit cigarette to the side.

"I'm going to get Wendy. Lucy, she's bad. They took her back into surgery." He said, straining to keep himself together.

"They admitted Wendy to the hospital." Lyon said, watching Natsu carefully. "She collapsed from exhaustion."

"Shit." Natsu yelled, exasperated. There was nothing he could do for Lucy now.

"Is Lucy going to be okay?"

"I-" Natsu swallowed, trying to choke back tears. "I don't know. She's got a bad infection. They wouldn't give me a real answer."

"She'll be okay. Lucy's pretty tough for a girl." Lyon offered, having no idea how to comfort the guy.

"How's Gray?" Natsu asked, sitting down in the middle of the sidewalk leading up to the hospital. He had nowhere to go now, but back into the hospital and he didn't think he could handle being back there just yet.

"I think he's going to be okay." Lyon said, taking a seat beside his brother's rival. "He woke up for a few minutes. It was bad. He was screa-" Lyon stopped himself, deciding the details were the last thing that Natsu needed to hear. "They gave him a shot of pain killer to knock him back out. He should be out until at least noon tomorrow with the amount they gave him."

"Is that why you're out here?" Natsu asked, trying to ignore what he'd half-heard. Besides Lucy and Happy, Gray was his best friend. Even if they tortured each other and fought all the time, it was all in good fun. He wasn't willing to lose either of them.

"Nothing better to do. It's too stuffy in there."

"Yeah, and it smells bad." Natsu agreed. "Gods, I hope they're alright."

"Gray is going to be okay. I can tell." Lyon reasoned, stretching out on the cool pavement. "I'm sure Lucy will be too. I've seen her fight. She's got a strong spirit."

"She's a celestial wizard, she's got more than one."

"That's not what I meant. I mean her spirit is strong."

"Oh, right. Sorry, I'm exhausted. The past few days have been the hardest of my life."

"Have you even gotten any sleep?" Lyon asked, looking the fire dragon slayer over.

"An hour or two." Natsu admitted, remembering his dream. It was more of a relived memory than a dream really. Why couldn't he have just told her he loved her then? She had to know he loved her, didn't she?

"You wanna go back inside?" Lyon offered, forcing himself to his feet. "I can keep you company until you hear about Lucy. Gray won't miss me for a while."

"Yeah, that'd be great actually." Natsu sighed, staring up at the hospital. The next few hours would be the hardest of his life.


	4. Gray's Pain

**A/N: I don't own Fairytail or any of it's fantastic characters.**

 **Please refrain from boiling me in a vat of turnips after reading.**

 **This chapter is likely to anger at least 40% of you. I promise, it gets better.**

Gray's eyelids fluttered open, scanning the unfamiliar room. Before he realized where he was, memories of being dissected flashed through his mind. He saw himself being strung out on the table, pieces being cut away, the smell of iron filling his nose. The thought made him cringe, causing pain to rip through his body. The taste of the oxygen mask over his face filled his lungs with gritty air, choking him. He braced himself against the rough hospital bed sheets, trying to keep from moving. Tensing up only intensified the pain.

"Shit." He swore under his breath, willing his body to go limp. Gray's entire body was racked with pain. Even where he didn't feel like he was being stabbed, he ached like he had been hit by a truck. It wasn't the sort of pain a person could get used to.

"Lucy?" He asked with a raspy voice, discovering he was alone in the room. Why was he alone? Had Lyon been there? Gray could remember seeing his face recently. He remembered seeing the lines drawn across Lucy's stomach as well. The thought of her suffering the same fate as him made his stomach roll. Had the dark wizard gotten to her before they were saved? He tried to push away the thought, but it took up residence in the forefront of his mind.

He attempted to look himself over, his eyes scanning down his body. His left leg ended abruptly, just below the knee. How was he supposed to fight with something like that? What was the point? Gray decided not to think about that for now, self pity wasn't his style. A pained groan escaped his chapped lips as he remembered his leg being cut into. His whole existence was painful, at least he couldn't feel his leg hurting. Using all his strength, he pulled the light blanket half way off of himself to assess the rest of the damage. Intense pain shot through his torso from the movement, making him decide he wouldn't be trying to cover back up. It was too hot for comfort in the room anyway. Three tubes stuck out of his stomach at odd angles. The rest of his front was covered in bandages, some areas with just a bit of blood seeping through. The sight was oddly sickening. He hadn't noticed the tubes until he looked, but now he could feel them.

"How am I supposed to fight like this?" He mumbled, letting his head collapse back onto the pillow. The wizard who did this had to be one really sick bastard. Gray regretted blacking out despite the terror of it all. He had no idea what had happened, or how he had gotten here. Hopefully they had captured the guy, or better yet, killed him. If they hadn't, Gray swore he would get his revenge.

By blacking out he left Lucy alone to suffer. Hopefully they had found her in time. Maybe she hadn't suffered a fate quite as terrifying as his own. The terror in his face as the dark wizard cut into him stuck with him. Would she ever look at him the same way again?

"Hello?" Gray attempted to yell, but it came out more like a raspy croak. He couldn't help but wonder where his team mates were. He knew if it wasn't important that they would have never left him alone in the hospital. Maybe there was something worse going on than he knew. Someone had to be near by.

He lifted his head up too look around, making the pain surging through his body double. Gray at least needed a nurse around to get him some more pain medication. He still couldn't fathom that no one was there for him. Surely, at least Juvia would have been there. How long had he been out for? He tried to remember, scanning the room for some sort of sign to no avail. His wounds still felt fresh, it couldn't have been too long. Maybe they had given up on him. That was the only reason that made sense. It was either that or this was all some twisted dream. But you couldn't feel pain in a dream, right? Gray couldn't remember. Too much time had passed since he last had an actual dream.

Someone walked past the entrance to Gray's room. He called out to them, unable to form clear words. The person whipped their head around the corner and gave Gray a weak smile.

"You're awake." She acknowledged, walking into the room. By the looks of her outfit, she was a nurse.

"Can I-" His voice cracked. He coughed as softly as he could in an attempt to clear it. "I need some pain medication."

"Here," The nurse said, placing a little round button in Gray's hand that didn't have a tangle of tubes hooked to it. "Press this when you feel like you need some more. It will only work every twenty minutes or so." She said apologetically. He pressed the button and closed his eyes, hoping for some form of relief.

"Can I have some water?" He asked. Maybe that would kill some of the burn in his throat.

"I'm sorry. You're going to need another surgery today." The nurse frowned. "I can get you some ice chips if you'd like."

"That's fine." He whispered, trying to collect enough spit in his mouth to swallow.

"The doctor will be in to see you soon."

"Thanks." He mouthed, having trouble producing sound.

* * *

Natsu awoke to a sharp elbow in the ribs from Lyon. The moment they had settled into the waiting room, he had passed out. How long had he been asleep? Bright light from the ceiling above made Natsu's eyes ache. Remembering why he was there, he forced them open anyway. "Did I sleep through the update? How long was I out?"

"Not long, a couple of hours tops." He responded, letting out a deep sigh. The ice mage scratched his head nervously, tousling his white hair.

"Mr. Dragneel?" The doctor standing in front of Natsu asked. The fire dragon slayer had been too tired to notice. Everything came back to him.

"Yeah?" He asked. "How's Lucy?"

"The infection had spread further when we could have imagined. All the pain medication she was on masked a lot of the symptoms." The doctor paused, carefully looking over the dragon slayer.

"Spit it out." Natsu demanded, anger filling his soul.

"I'm so sorry. Her body just couldn't handle the shock and-"

"You bastard!" He screamed, jumping to his feet. "That's not good enough! You were supposed to save her!" This couldn't be happening, not to his Lucy. She was supposed to be okay.

"I'm so so sorry for your loss. Is there someone that we can contact for you, another friend, or a relative maybe?" The doctor asked, eying the fist that Natsu had formed with his right hand. It seemed to radiate with heat. "I'll give you some time."

Lyon grabbed the dragon slayer's arm, holding him back so the doctor could escape before he came unglued. A broken sob ripped through Natsu's throat as he collapsed back into the chair. Lucy couldn't possibly be gone. He could still smell the faintest trace of her scent on his skin. This sort of thing wasn't supposed to happen. The thought of it was completely ridiculous to him. He had saved her, she couldn't be dead now. There was so much he hadn't said, so much they hadn't done.

"Natsu?" Lyon asked, unsure if he should stay or go. The only reason he came to the hospital was to see Gray. He had never expected to end up in this situation. Still, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness as he watched Natsu's reaction.

"I'm going back to the guild." Natsu said, his voice extremely unsteady. "I just- I need to go."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Lyon asked, his voice concerned. Natsu had never thought of him as the caring type before. Was it just a show?

"No, I just want to be alone." He growled, glaring at Lyon as he reached his hand out to comfort him. He pushed his way out of the waiting room. The world was impossibly dark for him, and growing darker.

* * *

Gray looked up from hospital bed, feeling a bit better with more pain medication in his system. He wondered how long he would be dependent on it to not be writhing in pain, all it did now was take the edge off. Lyon walked into the room, smiling slightly as he made eye contact with Gray. Maybe his brother had been to visit.

"You're awake." Lyon announced, taking a seat next to his brother. The look of concern on the normally rather stoic wizard's face was apparent.

"Yeah, that's what I've been told." Gray grumbled. He had expected a member of his guild to have shown up by now. Where was everyone?

"How are you feeling?" Lyon asked, his voice choppy and disconnected like he was straining to get the words out.

"How do you think I'm feeling?" Gray snapped, his voice not quite back at full strength despite the nurse's ice chips. It was weird eating ice he hadn't made himself. The taste was off.

"Sorry."

"No, sorry." Gray sighed, looking away from his fellow ice make mage. "No one was here when I woke up,"

"They would only let one person stay with you while you were unconscious. Most of the guild was here up until a few hours ago, waiting to see if you were going to be okay. You had your whole guild in shambles."

"Am I really that bad off?" Gray asked, looking down at his blanket covered body. He winced, remembering his earlier discovery. "Other than the leg I mean."

"That asshole ripped out half of your organs Gray. Hasn't anyone been in to talk to you?" Lyon asked, trying to keep Gray on the subject of himself.

"That would explain the pain." Gray decided, staring out the window. The weather outside was the gloomiest he'd seen in a while. Was Juvia causing it? "I've only been awake for twenty minutes or so."

"They won't let Juvia in." Lyon said, noticing Gray looking outside. "She flooded the first floor when you first came in apparently."

"Typical." Gray scoffed. As much as he appreciated her concern, Juvia's stalking antics really got under his skin sometimes. "Natsu's probably with Lucy, right?"

"Something like that." Lyon mumbled. He didn't like keeping things from Gray, but telling him now wouldn't help his recovery.

"I can tell when you're lying Lyon." Gray sighed. "Is she okay?"

"She ended up getting a rapidly spreading infection. It hit her while she was asleep, and well- She never woke back up. I'm sorry Gray, she's gone, but she didn't suffer badly in the end." Lyon made is words as gentle as he could manage.

"Damn. How did she get an infection?" He asked, unable to absorb the fact that she was actually gone.

"The uh- dark wizard opened her up to, just not to the same extent as you. She was okay for a while before the infection took hold of her. It happened while she was asleep." Lyon shut his mouth, deciding that maybe less words were better now.

"Damn." Gray swore again, trying to hold back tears. Lucy was one of his best friends. "How could this happen?"

Lyon had no answers. Instead he lightly grabbed Gray's forearm. "It's not okay, I know it's not, but someday it's going to hurt less. Just like with Ur."

"Just like with Ur." Gray mumbled. This was different. He actually had a chance to save Lucy and failed. "How's the flame brain holding up?"

Lyon cocked an eyebrow at him.

"How is Natsu holding up?"

"I don't know. I was actually with him when he found out, that's why I wasn't here. He took off, saying he needed to be alone. I think he was going to go tell the rest of your guild though."

"Damn." Gray cursed. Natsu was known to be reckless when upset. He couldn't imagine what his friend was going through right now. If Gray knew him at all, he knew that he would blame himself.

"He stayed with you until I got here." Lyon added.

"With me, instead of Lucy?" Gray asked. Maybe his hearing had been affected too.

"That was after they got news that Lucy was okay. He seemed very worried about you though. He will probably be happy to know you're awake."

"I bet he's regretting sitting with me now. Now that-" He swallowed back some tears, trying to retain his composure. Saying it would make it definitive, and he wasn't ready for that yet.

"I'm going to go and let you get some rest. I need to get back to Lamia Scale anyway. I'll make sure to let them know you're awake."

"Thanks Lyon." He said, a small tear forming in the corner of his eye. The guild wasn't going to be the same without Lucy around.

 **A/N: Sorry.**

 **I hope you continue to stick with me through the story til the end. I promise it picks up and gets better.**

 **X Aud.**


	5. Natsu's Despair

**A/N: I don't own Fairytail.**

Natsu collapsed on Lucy's bed, surrounded by his memories of her. The dragon slayer had stopped by the guild, popping in just long enough to let Mirajane know what had happened. _Lucy's gone._ He had barely been able to get the words out without choking. Mira's eyes widened with shock as he fled, unable to talk about it more than that sentence. He had been avoiding the rest of the guild ever since, Happy included.

The only person he would want to talk with this about was gone Everything felt unreal to him. A week ago they were talking about the future, thinking of starting a family. Natsu knew it would be years before it happened, but he knew in his heart it would. He though of little pink haired Lucy's and little blonde haired versions of himself running around. It would have been perfect. Now his dreams were shattered. The world was going to be a much darker place without the celestial wizard.

He rolled over and buried his face in Lucy's pillow, inhaling deeply. Her scent still resided there, with just a hint of her strawberry shampoo mixed him. Natsu would miss the smell. The thought of not seeing her again brought tears to the fire dragon slayer's eyes.

"Natsu?" Happy called from the doorway, his big cat eyes red from crying. "Can I come in?"

"Just leave me alone Happy." He moaned into the pillow, unwilling to face even his best friend. Dealing with negative emotions wasn't the dragon slayer's strong suit.

"We're all worried about you." Happy's small voice called. "Her funeral is tomorrow and you need to go."

"I can't." Natsu snapped, lifting his tired head up from the pillow. "I've never been good at dealing with that stuff."

"You'll regret it later if you don't." Happy said, his voice higher with agitation. "She was your girlfriend."

"She's still here Happy." Natsu sighed, looking around the room. "It's like she's still here if I just stay in this room. If I just sit here and wait, it's like she's just gone on a mission. I can still smell her, everything in this room smells like her. I can still catch the scent of her strawberry shampoo on her pillow right now, but it's fading. That might not last much longer. If I leave, it might be gone when I come back. I never want to forget what she smelled like. Her memory lives here and I'm not giving it up any sooner than I have to."

"Natsu," Happy frowned at his dearest friend. "The rest of the guild needs you too."

"They can deal without me."

"I'll be back soon." Happy decided, flying out of the room. The door shut behind him, leaving Natsu alone again.

Natsu rolled over on the bed and buried himself in Lucy's bed. A small sob escaped the dragon slayer's lips, muffled by Lucy's pillow. He closed his eyes and tried to remember.

"So, I was thinkin' Lucy." Natsu said, looking at the blonde celestial wizard cockily.

"Oh?" She asked, looking up from her writing. Natsu had been sitting on her bed, watching her as she worked on her novel.

"I think it's about time I take you out on a date."

"A date?" Lucy smiled, her eyes growing wide in surprise.

"Yeah." Natsu confirmed, scratching the back of his head nervously. "You know, we could go eat dinner or something, without Happy." He added, deciding it was best he left his exceed with Wendy and Carla. Happy had been spending a lot of time with them anyway.

"Like, as your girlfriend?"

"You don't have to be, but I would like that if you'd want to." Natsu said, looking to the side to try and hide away the blush that was forming on his cheeks.

"I think," Lucy said, standing up. She took a step towards the dragon slayer and wrapped her arms around him, linking her slender fingers behind his neck. "I would like that."

"Really?" Natsu asked, his voice full of excitement. Normally without shame, he had actually had to work up a bit of courage to ask her.

"Of course, Silly dragon." Lucy smiled. "When and where?"

"Uh, let's go right now!" Natsu decided on the spot, looking down at her. He'd never had a girls arms wrapped around his neck like that before. It felt really nice.

"We can't right now Natsu." She reasoned. "It's nearly eleven. All the restaurants will be closed soon if they're not already."

"Well, how about tomorrow?" Natsu asked, wondering if Lucy was trying to get out of the date already.

"That would be great." Lucy smiled. "Pick me up at seven?"

"Sure, but we'll have to walk to the restaurant, my motion sickness an all." He said, over explaining himself.

"That's fine." Lucy decided, looking up at the dragon slayer's dark eyes. "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Anything Lucy."

"Will you kiss me?" She asked, biting her lower lip ever so lightly. The pace of Natsu's heart quickened.

"I'm sorry if I'm not any good," He mumbled, lowering his mouth inches above hers. "I've never done this before."

"Just kiss me idiot." She said, her voice almost a whisper. She stood on her toes, connecting with Natsu's lips. His eyes fell closed. Her pink lips were soft, coated with just the lightest layer of lipgloss. Natsu leaned into the kiss, his hand sliding behind her head and tangling in her long blonde hair. She tasted sweet, like vanilla tea.

"Mmm." She hummed against his lips, pulling herself deeper into the kiss.

After a moment he broke the kiss, pulling back to look in her chocolate brown eyes. "You're pretty good at that." Natsu said, realizing he never wanted to kiss anyone else.

* * *

"Natsu, get up." Erza's voice shook him from his thoughts.

"Go away Erza." He growled, turning to look at her. She was holding a large clear plastic bag.

"I'm not going anywhere without you." She announced, walking over to Lucy's dirty clothes hamper. She reached her arm in and pulled out a blue t-shirt of Lucy's.

"What the hell are you doing?" Natsu asked, his temper flaring. As scary as Erza was, she was contaminating Lucy's things and Natsu wouldn't stand for it.

"Happy came and talked to me. I'm not going to let you ignore your responsibilities." Erza commanded, throwing Lucy's clothes into the clear bag.

"Bastard." Natsu hissed under his breath. Some friend Happy was. "You can't steal her clothes."

"I'm not stealing her clothes Natsu." Erza sighed, her voice softening as she looked at her friend. "I'm taking a few of her things to Ichiya. He has a magic that will preserve her scent for you."

Natsu's expression faded from anger to one of gratitude.

"I'm willing to help, but I'm not going to let you wallow in self-pity. She was your girlfriend and you're disrespecting her memory by refusing to go to her funeral." Erza barked, back to her normal self.

Natsu opened his mouth to speak,but Erza held her hand up.

"The rest of the guild lost her too Natsu. You're not the only one feeling this loss. We are a family Natsu, and I'll be damned if I let you go through this alone. Not to mention how selfish you're being, blocking everyone out. It doesn't help anyone." She paused for a moment to catch her breath and lower her temper. "Gray has been asking for you."

"Is he okay?" Natsu asked, feeling guilty that he'd all but forgotten him. Gray was his rival, but he was also his friend.

"No, he's not." Erza sied, taking a seat next to Natsu on the bed as she sealed the bag with Lucy's dirty clothes. "He's got a long road ahead of him, but he will probably be okay physically. Mentally, he's suffering terribly."

Natsu closed his eyes, trying not to think about the things Gray had likely witnessed. Walking in on the aftermath had been difficult enough on him. He couldn't imagine the turmoil Gray must be going through over it.

"He needs his friend."

Natsu hung his head in shame, realizing his selfishness.

"He knows you were the one who saved his life. Wendy visited him yesterday and told him that you were the first one on the scene when it happened."

"But I almost didn't." Natsu mumbled low enough that it was inaudible to Erza. He had been so focused on Lucy that he almost didn't save Gray. He couldn't imagine what would happen if he hadn't gotten to Gray when he did. He could never forgive himself for Lucy's death, but if he had lost them both... The thought sent a shiver down the fire dragon slayers back. "You and Happy are the ones that went and got help."

"And you bought him enough time to go get help." She assured him, raising her hand to awkwardly pat him on the back. He pulled away before she got the chance.

"But I couldn't save Lucy." He choked. "And I nearly let Gray die."

"Then make it up by not being selfish in this." He urged him, staring at the wizard she thought of as a little brother. "Come back to the guild with me, go see Gray in the hospital, do anything but stay here and wallow in self-pity. It's not like you Natsu. You're one of the strongest wizards I know, but strength comes in different forms. Sometimes strength is letting someone else help you when you need it."

"You're right." He decided, a bit of fire returning to his eyes.

* * *

Gray gritted his teeth in anticipated pain as the nurse prepared to unwrap the bandage covering his amputated leg. The doctors and nurses had been changing the dressing several times a day, trying to keep more necrotic tissue from forming along the area's that had been cut. He gripped the bed railing with his hand, trying not to tense up the rest of his body. His eyes scanned the room, trying to find anything to look at aside from himself. The battered, pathetic remainder of his body sickened him. If anyone were to have told him a week ago that he, Gray Fullbuster, that he would hate being naked, he would have laughed in their face.

Gray dared not look down, focusing his eyes on the door. The guild had splurged on a private room in the hospital to give him privacy, but all it really did was make him feel alone. A small thudding noise came from the door. The ice mage looked up to see a familiar face and head of pink hair.

"Come in." He called, thankful for a distraction.

"Hey." Natsu said, trying not to wince as he laid his eyes on Gray. "Is this a bad time?"

"No, come in." Gray insisted, nodding at the chair beside his bed. "She's just about to change my bandage."

"You're a mess." Natsu sighed. Gray watched Natsu's eyes trail over his body. The nurse doing his dressings shot Natsu a warning glare, causing Gray to chuckle.

"Tell me about it." He said, readjusting the tubing that moved oxygen to his nose.

"I'm sorry." Natsu frowned, leaning on the Gray's bed rail. "About everything."

"Fuck." Gray hissed, his arm jolting out and grabbing Natsu's forearm as the nurse stared unwrapping his dressing. He watched Natsu's eyes fall on the remainder of his leg. The dark wizard had done a number on him, he was constantly forced to remember. There were two rows of staples up the front of his leg, and one up the back. He could barely remember what it looked like before he passed out and for that he was thankful. Realizing he was digging claw marks into Natsu's arm, he released him and balled his hand into a fist. "Sorry, I wasn't quite ready for that." He mumbled.

"It's okay." Natsu shrugged, reaching his arm down for Gray to grab if he felt the urge again. "You're strong, and sometimes strength is letting others help you."

"Thanks." Gray groaned, his hand returning to Natsu's forearm. A week ago grabbing Natsu like that would have started a fight.

"You're almost done." The nurse assured him, disposing of the old bandage in the medical waste bucket.

"It doesn't look that bad Gray." Natsu offered, daring to glance back down at his leg.

"Shut up." Gray growled, looking away. He hadn't dared look with the bandages off, but he could feel it.

"It's going to look bad ass when it's finished healing." Natsu offered, trying not to tense his arm as Gray's grip tightened. The nurse was putting new bandages on.

"Yeah, I'm sure half of a bad ass leg is going to make me feel better." He rolled his eyes, some of the pain from earlier leaving him.

"Hey, I happen to think scars are pretty bad ass." Natsu argued, motioning to the scar on his neck, no longer hidden by Igneel's scarf.

"Shut it bonfire breath."

"You first Popsicle princess." Gray said, removing his hand from Natsu's arm.

"Make me." Natsu said, earning another stern look from the nurse.

"I'm done here for now." She said, smiling at Gray. Out of all the nurses he'd had so far, this one by far was his favorite. She gently recovered him with the hospital blanket understandingly.

"Thanks." He said flatly, watching her leave.

The two rivals sat in silence, not making eye contact. Normally Natsu's little comment would have ended with them fighting. It wasn't going to be like that anymore and Gray had to wonder if their rivalry was ever going to be the same.

"I'm sorry." Gray admitted, looking down and away so that Natsu couldn't see his face. "I should have protected us better. Instead I let us get caught and she's dead because of me. I understand if you never forgive me."

"It's not your fault." Natsu assured him, his own voice laced with guilt. "If Lucy and I hadn't been fighting, well, she would have been with me and I'm not sure I could have done any better."

"Oh can it already. I know you think of yourself as a superior wizard to me. You have to hate me after all this. I know I do."

"Well, I don't." Natsu snapped. "And neither should you. That's not what Lucy would want."

"She wouldn't want to be dead either." Gray snapped back, attempting to sit up. He gasped in pain barely an inch off the bed and fell back.

"You idiot, don't strain yourself. If you weren't a wizard you'd probably still be in a coma." Natsu said, annoyance leaking through his voice. "We shouldn't be fighting like this. Lucy would kick both of our asses if she were here."

"Shouldn't she be used to us fighting by now?"

"Not like this." Natsu shook his head, trying to dull his emotions. "I hate this."

"Yeah." Gray sighed, looking down at his covered body. "Me too."


	6. Funeral

**A/N: I don't in any way shape or form own Fairytail.**

It was raining as Natsu walked past the cemetery gate, a deep sorrow filling his soul. He stood in the back and watched as rows of people filled the burial site. There was a seat reserved for him up front, but his feet wouldn't budge ten feet past the gate. Nothing could have possibly prepared him for this. The wizard who did this deserved nothing but the worst of pain. Natsu almost regretted killing him, wishing he had made him suffer more. He deserved to suffer for all of eternity for doing this to his friends. The rain evaporated instantaneously as it landed on his shoulders, his rage at the wizard boiling it off of him.

Happy flew past him without saying a word, casting him a small frown. The poor exceed had been taking it rather hard himself and Natsu felt guilt over not helping him more.

"Hey." A female voice called from behind him.

Natsu turned around to see Lisanna approaching him, a big black umbrella above her. Her red puffy eyes showed Natsu she'd been crying. "Hey Lisanna."

"Are you going to go sit down?"

Natsu thought for a moment, holding his breath. The dragon slayer knew that he should go sit down, but it felt too weird. People would be talking about her, sharing their stories. He was too lost in his own to listen to others.

"Do you want me to go sit with you?" She asked, her slender hand gently touching the guild mark on his shoulder. Natsu could see the concern in her eyes.

He shook his head. "I'm sure Elfman and Mirajane are saving you a seat." He said, looking out at the crowd. Lucy had obviously been a very popular wizard. The amount of people fawning over her now would have amused her. "I'll be up there in a little bit."

Lisanna gave him a weak smile, allowing her hand to drop to her side. "Let me know if you change your mind." She moved to walk away, but turned back around making eye contact with the dragon slayer. "If you need anything,I'm here okay? I always will be."

"Thanks Lisanna." He said, meeting her big blue eyes.

Natsu looked away, watching out the gate. He could hear people getting settled up front. A slow melodious tone vibrated through the air. Natsu looked down, but still his feet would not budge. Lucy was up there, waiting on him. Except it wasn't really Lucy, not anymore. He hadn't seen his girlfriend since she passed and couldn't bare the thought of seeing her there. It seemed like everyone he got close to died. Igneel, Lisanna, now Lucy. But Lisanna wasn't really dead, maybe the same was so with Lucy? He forced the thought from his mind. He couldn't afford to think like that now. The cost of hope was much too high. He had hoped that Lucy would be fine, it seemed like she would.

The music stopped playing and Natsu leaned against the black iron fencing surrounding the graveyard. Master Makarov's voice rang out over the crowd, distorted by the sounds of rain. Hopefully Lucy would be able to forgive him for not speaking. He had been offered, but how could he speak at her funeral when he couldn't even approach her final resting place? It was pathetic and weak, the opposite of what he normally thought himself to be. Gray would kick his ass when he found out about it. Natsu wondered if he would be mad he couldn't be here.

Loke walked up to Natsu, the saddest of smiles playing across his face. He leaned against the fence beside him, holding a dark green umbrella between them.

"Do you mind if I stand back here with you?" He asked, obviously uncomfortable. "I'm a little late. I didn't realize- Well, you know how time flows differently in the spirit world."

"That's fine man." He said, letting out a deep sigh. "She really liked you, you know."

"Yeah but she loved you. I can't tell you how many times I tried to win her over. She was completely infatuated by you." Loke assured him.

"Doesn't matter now does it?" He mumbled, looking down at the muddy ground.

"Of course it matters. Aren't you happy about the time you spent with her? What about all your memories of her?" Loke asked, his voice raising slightly.

"They're the most valuable thing I have." Natsu replied. He had one of Lucy's blue hair ties around it's wrist. Erza had gotten it enchanted to hold Lucy's scent and it was to never leave his wrist. Wherever he went for the rest of his life, Lucy would go with him.

"I didn't mean for it to come out like that." Loke sighed. "I'm not jealous or bitter I'm just-"

"Distraught?" Natsu asked. Lucy had used that word when she lost her notebook containing her novel. The celestial wizard had been beyond angry when she found out he had been reading it. He repressed a smile at the memory.

"Yeah, that's it." He said, staring out into the crowd.

"So, what are you doing now?" Natsu asked, "You're no longer one of her celestial spirits."

"I'm going to stick around for a little while longer, until I find someone to take my gate key. I wish there was another celestial spirit mage in Fairytail. To be honest, I'm not quite ready to leave the guild."

"I'm not ready for another celestial spirit mage." Natsu mumbled, looking at the little golden key in Loke's hand. "I'm sure you'll find someone to take your key."

"Thanks." Loke said, unsure what to say to the suffering dragon slayer.

"I'm getting out of here." Natsu announced, lifting himself off the black fence. "Gray was having another surgery today. Somebody should be there with him."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"Nah, go be with the rest of the guild. They'll be sad to see you go." Natsu suggested, nodding at the crowd. He turned and walked out of the cemetery before Loke got a chance to respond.

* * *

Gray's eyes fluttered open. He groaned, trying to force himself into consciousness as his head throbbed against his skull. Attempting to ignore the intense pain in his torso, he looked around the room. He could feel the fresh incision on his abdomen, following one of the wounds where the dark wizard had opened him. He let his head fall to the side, too tired and groggy to hold it up. Natsu was sitting the chair beside his bed, not something the mage had expected.

"What are you doing here?" Gray mumbled groggily. He'd already woken up in recovery, but forced himself back to sleep with his pain medication. It dulled the ice mage's pain in more ways than one. "You're supposed to be at Lucy's funeral."

"It's over, and I thought you could probably use some company." Natsu said. Gray focused on the clock in front of him. It probably was over by now, but not by much. Had he skipped out on Lucy's funeral? "Juvia came to see you while you were asleep."

"Yeah." Gray mumbled under his breath. It wasn't that he didn't like Juvia, but her incessant weeping wasn't helping anyone. Every other time she came to visit, Gray would pretend to be asleep, hoping she would at least make her visit short. Maybe it was cruel, but it was necessary for him for the moment. Having her around definitely didn't give him any hope. At least this time he hadn't had to pretend to be sleeping.

"How are you feeling?" The dragon slayer asked.

"Like shit." Gray admitted, letting out the breath he had been holding. "They put a mesh in across my front, trying to make my muscles grow back together. I don't have abs anymore." He chuckled darkly. There went years and years of training down the drain, like he'd never been strong at all. By the time he was healed, there wouldn't be much left to work with.

"You'll get them back." Natsu assured him. "I'll help you train, push you harder. You still have your magic anyway right?"

Gray hadn't thought about that. Magic had been the last thing on his mind with all that was going lifted his hand and closed his eyes, focusing to make a small ice cube in his hands. A small little chunk of ice appeared, but it took so much of his energy he felt like he was going to pass out for a moment.

"See?" Natsu asked, obviously trying to encourage him. It was extremely annoying.

"I'm not going to be training any time soon flame brain." Gray stated, no doubt in his mind that he was done for at least a while, probably a long while.

"Alright snow princess. I'm just trying to help." Natsu said, looking away from the ice make mage. Gray could hear the hurt in his voice.

"I know." Gray said, shifting slightly on the bed. It shot pain through him, but he at least had enough strength to do that much now. "I never told you Natsu,"

"Told me what?" The pink haired boy looked at Gray curiously.

"I never told you thanks, yah know, for saving me." He looked down, almost ashamed he hadn't said something earlier. He'd been too caught up in himself. The thought that he had to be rescued by the likes of Natsu was almost embarrassing. The least he could do was thank him for it.

"Don't mention it." Natsu replied, his voice strangled as something resembling guilt flashed across his dark eyes.

"I'm supposed to start physical therapy tomorrow." Gray said, changing the subject. Why did Natsu look so guilty?

"I bet you get your strength back a lot quicker doing that." Natsu enthused, his voice lighter than Gray had seen since the event. "How often do you have it?"

"Well, it's more to keep me from getting weaker than anything right now." Gray admitted, trying not to disappoint the dragon slayer too much. "But soon, yeah, it will be. Wendy is coming in later. She's going to try to help heal some of these muscles back together." He said, lightly trailing his hand over the bandages that covered his front.

"That should help you get back into the fight a lot quicker." Natsu encouraged, gripping the railing of Gray's hospital bed. His confidence in the ice wizard was refreshing.

"Natsu, right now I can't even sit up." Gray admitted, watching Natsu's face for a reaction. "My muscles won't support me, plus it feels like my guts are going to fall out."Gray had been trying not to think about it, determined not to wallow in self pity, but he had a long road ahead of him.

"Soon." Natsu decided, looking down at his friend. "You'll be up trying to kick my ass before you know it."

"Trying?" Gray cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Let's not get carried away. We both know I've always been stronger than you." The dragon slayer boasted, subconsciously puffing his chest out like a bird trying to look bigger.

"Bold thing to say to someone who can't fight back."

"You can fight me when you get better." Natsu responded, challenging Gray.

Gray bit his tongue, trying to filter his words. He imagined Natsu's emotional state had to be at least somewhat compromised. Natsu didn't need to hear that Gray didn't know that he'd ever be well enough to fight Natsu again. He found himself tensing up with annoyance, sending pain shooting down his freshly reopened wounds. The dragon slayer must have seen the pain on his face.

"Does it hurt?" He asked, his expression softening.

"I've had worse." Gray hissed through gritted teeth. Nothing could be worse than this, perhaps not even death.

"Liar." Natsu said, repressing a small smile. He reached his hand out and laid it on Gray's icy shoulder in an attempt at comfort. "I'd still be crying like a baby if this happened to me."

"Well, you don't see what happens when no ones around." Gray sighed, trying to relax into the bed. The warmth from Natsu's hand was oddly soothing.

"I don't believe it. Gray Fullbuster's too strong for that."

"Yeah, he also watched himself be dissected on some freak's operating table." Gray snapped, glaring at Natsu. The day kept replaying in his head like a horror movie. "And I watched the same thing happen to someone I loved. I'm not actually dealing with that to well, so you can stop trying to make me feel ashamed."

"I didn't mean it like that." Natsu swallowed, letting his hand drop from Gray's shoulder. The ice mage's expression softened. "Lucy loved you too, like a brother. She always said the guild was her home, her family."

"Can you imagine if she had been around when we were kids?" Gray let out a small laugh, trying not to move his body. "She and Erza would have probably been competitive at trying to corral us."

"You're right. " Natsu laughed. "I can see it now. They probably would have been rivals, just like us."

"Nah, Erza would never stand for that much fighting."

"You never know, old Erzy likes a good fight once in a while, you know?"

"Yeah." Gray said, looking up at his old friend. "Thanks for being with me today."

"No problem." Natsu replied, offering Gray the slightest of smiles.


	7. Ice Cream

**A/N: I don't own Fairytail. Lemon ahead, so please refrain from reading if you've not reached an age of maturity.**

Natsu woke to something warm brushing against his hand. He rolled over to see a familiar face laying beside him in the disheveled bed. Her skin seemed to radiate with just the slightest hint of a peach hue. Her golden hair fell down her back, uncombed but beautiful. She wore a simple white dress that accentuated her curves without drawing too much attention to them. Natsu blinked, looking down to see her soft hand wrapped around his own. He opened his mouth speak but she placed her finger against his lips.

"Just be with me." Her soft voice whispered. She ran her hand down his chest, placing it over his heart. Her brown eyes burned with passion as she leaned into him, pressing her lips against his.

His body reacted before his mind could form thoughts, pushing her onto the bed. He buried the head in the nook of her neck, inhaling deeply. There was no doubt in his mind that this was real. Her scent was to vivid, overpowering. The dragon slayer placed light kisses in a line up her neck, sucking on her skin just below the ear. Her earrings were gone now, he noticed, pulling back to look at her more carefully. Her radiant skin was bare, without so much as a scratch.

She placed her hand on the side of Natsu's face, pulling him closer. She gently kissed her way down the side of his neck, pausing over his scar. She nipped at the raised skin there, making Natsu gasp in surprise. The celestial wizard pulled back to look at her boyfriend with a small grin. She pushed him onto the bed so that they were laying side by side, the perfect distance from each others eyes.

Natsu trailed his rough hand down her back, slowly rubbing circles in her soft skin. He slid his hand over her butt and gave it a little squeeze, eliciting a soft moan from her lips. She crashed her lips into his, her fingers lightly tugging at his unkempt salmon hair. Her actions made him crazy, a need growing deep inside of him.

She sat up and pulled her white dress off, leaving herself completely naked. Natsu looked her over carefully. She was perfect from head to toe.

"But how-" He was cut off my her finger pressed to his lips again.

"Don't ruin this Natsu." She warned, her eyes betraying her sadness. "Just love me."

Natsu swallowed, afraid to disappoint her. He gently ran his fingers up the inside of her thigh, bringing them to a stop just below her mound. He slipped a single finger between her folds, looking into her chocolate eyes to make sure it was she wanted.

She purred in response, her eyes falling shut. A light red spread over her cheeks as he touched her breast with his other hand. He rolled one of her soft pink nipples between his thumb and forefinger, watching her face for a response. Her lips parted, releasing a breathy gasp.

"Too much." She whispered, not opening her eyes.

Natsu wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her closer and planing soft kissed on her neck. Her scent grew stronger with her arousal, clouding Natsu's head. Lucy's hand slid down his abs, her fingernails making the lightest of marks against his skin. He couldn't help but wish she would press a little harder. If she did there would be some trace of her left on him. He felt himself as Lucy's hand moved lower, hovering over him. She wrapped his hand around his large manhood, drawing a low moan from his throat.

Natsu slid his finger deeper inside of her, pressing against the front wall of her opening. It made her moan into his neck, the vibrations from her lips making him shiver. She pushed herself against his hand, trying to take more of his finger in. The bed creaked under him. Thank Mavis Happy was gone for the evening. He slid another finger inside of her, making her cry out softly. She slowly moved her hand up and down his length, spreading the pre-cum that was leaking out of his tip.

"I'm ready." She whispered, already on the verge of losing her breath.

Natsu stared down at his love, looking deep into her eyes. He gently pushed her into the bed, pressing his body against hers. She caught his fiery lips in a deep kiss, softly nibbling on his lower lip. Refusing to break the kiss, Natsu reached over and opened the drawer to his nightstand.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked, breaking their kiss.

"Getting a condom." He responded, leaning down to kiss her neck.

"That doesn't matter now Natsu." She mewled with a sad smile. She grabbed his arm and laced her fingers with his, his hand now pinning her to the bed. "Love me."

Natsu lined himself up with her entrance. He reached down and softly caressed the side of her face. There was a smile on her face, but a certain sadness in her eyes. She squeezed his hand reassuringly, lifting her hips up to make it easier on him.

"I love you Lucy." He whispered, slowly filling her. It was all Natsu could do to hold back as her tight velvety walls squeezed him.

"I love you too Natsu." She moaned, a small tear rolling down the side of her face.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked, leaning down. He kissed her forehead, hoping to ease her pain.

"No Natsu." She laughed gently, wiping away the tear with her free hand. "I know you're hot by nature, but Mavis, you're even hotter here."

"Is it okay?" He asked, concentrating on her face.

"It's wonderful," She replied, giving his hand another tight squeeze. "But you're so huge I don't know how you fit."

Natsu smiled down at her cockily, pressing himself in just a little deeper. The feeling was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

"Natsu," The celestial wizard moaned beneath him. "Move."

Natsu pulled back slowly, watching her face as she felt the friction between them. She whimpered and thrust her hips up at him as he pulled out all but the tip.

Without warning, he thrust his whole length into her. Lucy gasped and dug her fingernails into Natsu's arm. The sight of it drove him wild.

"Lucy." He growled under his breath, unable to control himself any longer. He thrust in and out of her, closing his eyes as he heard her voice call out in ecstasy. Natsu was grateful she was enjoying herself, because it would have been almost painful for him to stop at this point.

"Natsu!" She yelled, her flushed body arching off the bed. Her chocolate eyes snapped shut and she squeezed Natsu's hand tight as she climaxed. Her velvet walls throbbed around his manhood, making him moan in response.. He gripped the headboard with his free hand, watching the face of his love as he felt himself shoot his seed deep inside of her.

"Mmm," She hummed as he collapsed beside her. Natsu wrapped his arm around her, unwilling to let go.

"I miss you." He whispered in the celestial wizard's ear.

"You don't have to." She replied, sitting up in the bed.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you trust me?" She asked, biting her bottom lip.

"Of course I do." He answered, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Then I'll be back." She gave him a soft smile, climbing off the bed. "Close your eyes and count to three, slowly."

He snapped his eyes shut. "One."

He felt her scent fading from the room. "Two."

A small frown formed on his lips. "Three."

He laid there for a moment with his eyes shut, afraid to find her gone when he opened them. He held his wrist against his face, deeply inhaling the scent from Lucy's headband. It had changed slightly. The smell was just as strong, but somehow fresher.

"What are you doing?" Happy's voice called from across the room.

Natsu groaned, opening his eyes.

"Why are you naked? Are you turning into Gray?"

"No, just a dream I guess." The dragon slayer shrugged, wishing he could have woken up alone, or at least without Happy there. It would have been nice to keep his eyes closed a bit longer, remembering her.

"You said we could go get ice cream today."

"We will Happy. Calm down, I just need to wake up first." Natsu said, chucking a pillow at the exceed.

"Do you think they have fish ice cream? That would be the most amazing thing ever! Can you imagine it? I bet they have salmon, and tuna, and trout, and cod- Ooo! And probably swordfish too. I've never had swordfish."

"I'm pretty sure they don't make swordfish ice cream." Natsu reasoned, cocking an eyebrow at his friend.

"Well, anyway, we should take Gray some ice cream too. I bet that would cheer him up a lot!" Happy suggested, landing on the bed next to Natsu. "But you've gotta but some clothes on first. I'm not going anywhere with you naked."

"You're right Happy, that's a good idea. What better of a way to cheer up a Popsicle than with ice cream?" Natsu decided, pulling his pants on.

* * *

"It works best if there's not a layer of bandages between us." Wendy said with a small apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."

"As long as you don't make me look." Gray reasoned. Wendy's little healing experiment had been put off for nearly a weak by the doctors tending to him. They had to make sure that the ice mage wasn't going to need any more operations in the immediate future before they'd sign off on it. The precaution made sense to him, but still he wished they would hurry things up. Feeling useless wasn't something he was good at taking.

"Is it okay if I take them off now?" Wendy asked, her gentle fingertips working at the edge of the wrap. Gray hated himself for forcing her to do this, after everything she'd seen, but he desperately needed it.

"Yeah." Gray replied flatly, turning his head away. He felt the bandage being removed, pulling at the edges of his skin to the point where he wondered if they might tear."

"This may tingle a little bit." Wendy assured him, gently laying her hands on his stomach. He tried not to wince. "But it shouldn't feel too bad."

"It can't feel any worse than it already does." He decided, watching the gentle rain outside. Gray closed his eyes as he felt small pin pricks spreading across his body.

The door to the hospital room swung open loudly. Natsu and Happy burst into the room, each carrying a paper sack soaked in rain from the downpour outside.

"Hey snowman, we brought you some ice cream." Natsu announced, setting his sack down on the table beside Gray's bed.

"I don't think he's allowed to eat that." Wendy said, frowning slightly.

"Awh, give him a break. The poor guys deserves the ice cream after all the shit he's been through." Natsu argued, his eyes falling on the staples holding Gray's stomach together. "I'm sure the ice cream will melt into liquid anyway, even if he is super cold. That means it counts as part of a liquid diet."

"Hey," Gray said, raising his voice at Natsu. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here loser."

"You won't tell anyone will you Wendy?" Natsu asked, challenging her to dare tell.

"Of course not."

"Hear that Gray? You get ice cream. Strawberry or Vanilla?" Natsu asked, pulling the cartons out of his bag. Happy was sitting in the corner eating some ice cream Gray dared not attempt to identify.

"Strawberry." The ice mage replied, taking the small carton from Natsu. He took a small tentative bite with the spoon stuck on the inside of the lid. It slid down his throat, soothing it where he had a tube shoved down his throat earlier in the week. With all the other trauma in his body, it was taking a while to feel normal again.

"I'm sorry Gray, but this isn't going to work as well if you keep moving." Wendy admitted.

"That's okay." Natsu said, snatching the ice cream out of Gray's hands. "I'll feed you."

Gray shot him a dirty glare. His mind said no, but his scratchy burning throat said yes. "If you tell anyone about this, I'll kick your ass."

"I'm sure you will." Natsu replied, shoving a spoonful into Gray's mouth.

Gray swallowed the ice cream, ignoring Natsu's patronizing comment. As annoyed as he was, Gray was dying for anything to eat that didn't taste like socks. As much as the injured mage would have liked to have punched Natsu, the ice cream was a welcome surprise.

"Open wide." Natsu said in a sing song voice. The sound pushed Gray's temper over the edge.

"Fuck off." Gray hissed, shooting him a venom laced glare. What a freaking idiot.

"Gray, don't tense up." Wendy demanded, her cheeks turning red.

"I'm just messing Gray, relax. I'm not going to tell anyone I fed you ice cream. You're my friend. I'm just helping you out."

"Doesn't mean you have to be an ass about it." Gray said, turning his face away. "Just set it on the counter. I can refreeze it to eat once Wendy's done."

"Suit yourself snowball." Natsu shrugged, diving into his own carton of vanilla.

"I think I can already feel a difference Wendy. Think you can grow my leg back next?" Gray joked, ignoring Natsu's comment.

Wendy shot him a pitiful look.

"I'm just joking Wendy. I really appreciate his." He assured her, trying to lighten the tense mood in the room.

"So, if you're going to refreeze this ice cream, does that mean your getting your strength back, magic wise?" Natsu asked, his voice teeming with curiosity.

"I've been practicing a little." Gray admitted, looking over to the dragon slayer. "Just when there's no one around. Little stuff like ice cubes here and there. I figure as long as I keep fighting, I'll get it all back, even if it takes a while."

Natsu nodded, his face stuffed with icecream. "You'll make a comeback and be stronger than you ever were before."

"Hopefully." Gray nodded, trying not to jerk as the tingling sensation running along his wounds intensified.

"You okay?" Natsu asked, casting a glance at Wendy.

"Yeah, I think it's actually working." He said, a smile plastered across his face. It was the first real smile he'd had in a while.

"That's awesome Gray!" Natsu grinned. "It's about time we get some good news around here."

 **A/N: So, don't get too caught up in shippings for now, but take a little bromance until actual ships set sail. ;)**


	8. Gray's Progress

**A/N: Most unfortunately, I do not own the fabulous Fairytail. This is a short chapter, but I hope you find it reasonably agreeable. Enjoy lovelies.**

Gray grew stronger, a bit more color returning to his face every single day. Wendy's healing magic seemed to be helping him a lot. As much as it drained her to help, Natsu was extremely grateful for his fellow dragon slayer's dedication. He walked the hall to Gray's hospital room. Last week they had moved him out of intensive care and into a private room in the rehabilitation wing of Magnolia hospital. This area of the hospital wasn't nearly as depressing. The walls were bright blue with a white baseboard. Lucy would have liked it, Natsu decided.

Gray was sitting up in his hospital bed eating, much to Natsu's surprise. A few days ago he had started sitting upright. Even if there were pillows surrounding him to help, it was a big improvement in his condition.

"They're letting you have actual food now?" Natsu asked enthusiastically, eyeing the baked chicken breast on the plate in front of him.

The ice mage slid a small sliver of chicken into his mouth. His eyes closed to give the sensation all his attention.

"That good?" Natsu said, resisting the urge to snatch the chicken off his plate.

"Actually," Gray said with a full mouth. "I'm pretty sure it sucks, but I've been so hungry for actual food it tastes like a million jewels."

"A million jewels huh?" Natsu asked, watching as Gray lifted another bite to his lips. He seemed in much better spirits today than usual.

"They're saying they may release me soon." Gray said, setting his fork down beside the plate. The novelty of solid food must have been wearing off.

"Really? That's awesome!" Natsu said excitedly.

"Yeah. As soon as I can sit a bit better, they're going to get me a wheel chair to test out. Then I can go home. I'll still be back every few days for physical therapy and tests, but I'll be free."

"I'm glad. It's about time you get out of here." Natsu decided, looking at the chicken on Gray's plate. It really didn't look that good upon further examination. "Then I can get you some real food."

"There's only one problem."

"What's that?"

"They won't let me go home alone." He admitted, letting out a disgruntled sigh.

"Is that all?" Natsu asked, a smile forming on his face. "You can stay with me and Happy!"

"I'm not staying in that filthy shack." Gray said, furrowing his eyebrows at the dragon slayer. What a ridiculous idea. "I'm going to see if I can stay at the guild. Someones always there."

"Well, you can't say I didn't offer. Are you going to be okay at the guild? It's not exactly a five star hotel."

"Well, it's not like I have another choice. I need to get out of this place and I live alone. What else am I supposed to do?" Gray asked, sounding more like himself than he had in weeks.

"Well, I could stay with you at your place if you wanted." Natsu offered. Happy would miss him, but Gray needed the help. "Your own bed has to be more comfortable than a cot set up in the guild."

"You don't have to do that. Besides, I don't want you to trash the place like your shack." Gray argued, a soured look on his face.

"It's not really that bad anymore. Since I started dating Lucy she insisted I keep it clean. It's not perfect, but it's not terrible." Natsu said, his smile fading as he realized what he said. Sometimes he forgot she was gone. Those moments, as short as they were, were the closest thing to actual happiness he had these days.

"I miss her too." Gray frowned, watching his friend's face fall. "It hurts to think about, but I don't want to forget."

"I know what you mean." Natsu sighed. "It's still unreal to me sometimes."

"She tried to save me you know." Gray informed him, pushing the table holding his plate to the side. "She tried to get the wizard to-"

"Stop." Natsu cur him off. He shook his head, looking down. "I'm not ready to hear about it yet. I wish I could listen, but I just can't handle it. I'm sorry." Mirajane and Lisanna had been trying to get him to see a counselor, but that wasn't the way Natsu worked. Talking about things, hearing about them, it only made them worse.

"Sorry."

"So, are you going to let me move in with you or what?" Natsu asked, making eye contact with his friend. He tried to ignore the pain behind Gray's tired eyes. The dragon slayer recalled him saying something once about how scars were best if you could see them. Natsu understood that clearer than he had ever hoped to now.

"I guess." Gray grumbled, unsure.

"I promise I won't trash your place. If you really don't want me to, I'll see if Juvia will. I don't want you sleeping on some cheap cot in the guild hall. That's not going to help you heal."

"Better you than Juvia." Gray decided. "She still cries every time she comes around me. It's almost pathetic."

"That's hilarious." Natsu said, earning a glare from the ice mage. "No offense meant of course. You'd think she'd be excited to see you recovering so quickly."

"She gets upset that I won't let her do everything for me. Pisses me the hell off. She'd fucking pee for me if she could."

"Well, she is technically liquid." Natsu reasoned, tilting his head to the left.

"Stop right there and continue no further." Gray warned, shaking his head as if to clear a picture in his mind.

* * *

Gray slowly wheeled himself down the hallway, his stomach muscles screaming in protest with each movement. Furrowing his eyebrows in determination, he pushed himself farther. He couldn't take being stuck in a stupid hospital anymore. The tight bandages helping support his abs rubbed against his skin unpleasantly. They made him hot and sweaty but served their purpose perfectly.

The ice mage couldn't remember the last time he felt so hot. He pushed his wheelchair over the hump in the doorway, smiling at his success. If he could make his way around the whole hospital wing without stopping, they were going to let him go home the next day. He may have been going home to Natsu, but it was a sight better than this place.

He groaned in frustration, pausing to pull at the edge of his shirt. If nothing else, his injuries cured his stripping habit. He couldn't even put his shirt on by himself and he wondered how long it would be before he actually could. Even the most mundane of tasks required help. He recalled Natsu helping him into his wheelchair earlier. Having the dragon slayer help him was something that ate at him, but it was necessary. Letting Natsu help him wasn't admitting defeat as long as it was just so he could keep fighting. At least, that's what the ice mage told himself to save his pride,

When he got better, he would definitely be paying Natsu back for all his help. Even if it was just to take his mind off Lucy, he was certainly giving Gray an unwarranted amount of time. In Gray's mind he had never done anything to earn the help of the dragon slayer. They were team mates and friends, but Gray couldn't picture himself ever offering to help Natsu as much as Natsu was helping him. Lucy on the other hand... Gray cleared the thought from his mind. There was no point in thinking of could-haves now. It was much too late for that.

Gray re-entered the blue hallway, his whole body dripping with sweat. Before he had wondered if he could do it, but now he was sure. There was nothing that would stop him from making his way through the hospital wing. He would be going home tomorrow, even if he paid for it later.

"Keep going Gray." Natsu cheered, setting his cup on the nurse's station counter.

"Shut up cheer leader." Gray panted, glaring at him. Natsu was probably only helping him out for a chance to patronize him. The stupid dragon slayer probably didn't even know what patronize meant.

"Come on snowflake." Natsu challenged, a smile growing on his face. "Unless you're too weak."

One of the nurses looked up for a moment, resuming her paperwork once she saw who was talking. The nurses had grown to accept Natsu's taunting as his own way of pushing Gray. He was good at that if nothing else. Even the ice mage couldn't deny that.

"I'm gonna kick your ass." Gray growled furiously with nearly all the air he had.

"I hope you do ice princess. Hurry up. You're slacking off."

"Bastard." Gray hissed, ramming his wheel chair into Natsu's legs. He looked up at the doorway beside him. He was back in front of his room, the starting point.

"Looks like you're going home tomorrow Icicle." Natsu said, smiling proudly.

"It's about damn time." Gray groaned. Now that he stopped, he was paying for what he put his body through. Maybe he over did it, but it was worth it. Every goal he pushed through, put him closer to being himself again.

"You okay?" Natsu asked. Apparently the ice mage's face betrayed the pain ripping across his stomach.

"Yeah." He said, crossing his sweat soaked arms in front of him. "I'm just hot."

"Want me to help you strip then?" Natsu asked, getting a weird look from the nurse behind the counter. Gray's face wasn't far off from hers."You know what I meant, stripper. I know you can't do it now and you're completely drenched in sweat."

"Mind pushing me into the room first?" Gray asked, giving in.

Natsu rolled him into his hospital room wordlessly.

"Can you lift your arms?"

"Not all the way." Gray admitted, feeling ashamed. How could he go from a powerful wizard to this?

"That's fine. I just want to let you do as much as you can." Natsu said, slowly pulling the dark blue t shirt off of the ice mage's body.

Gray immediately felt relieved.

"Want me to take your shorts off too?" Natsu asked, his eyes falling on the end of Gray's left leg.

"No, I'm fine." Gray sighed, shifting slightly in his seat. He felt like laying down, but didn't feel like asking Natsu for anymore help. He'd already done so much for him, Gray felt like he would likely owe him for the rest of his life.

"Does that hurt?" Natsu asked, his eyes still on Gray's leg.

"Not really." Gray said, looking to the side. "It doesn't feel like anything. I think the nerves were deadened above the bulk of the damage. Blessing in disguise I guess."

"Gray?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to get a kick ass fake leg like Guild Arts? Or you could make one out of ice. That would be cool."

"I haven't really thought about it." Gray admitted. It was something he was trying to ignore for now. Healing one part of himself was hard enough without having to think about parts that would never heal. His leg was the least of his worries.

 **A/N: So, the story continues. If anyone can think of a better summary for this story, please let me know. If I use it, I'll give you credit.**

 **Leave me your feedback and suggestions.**

 **Thanks x10 for reading!**  
 **X Aud.**


	9. Natsu's Visitor

**A/N: So, this chapter is a bit emotional, or was for me at least. Enjoy lovelies!**

She drifted through the air, free to move whichever way she desired. All of her senses were dulled, like she was separated from the world by a thin veil. The world rejected her. It was no longer her home. The celestial wizard looked down at her translucent body. Even she could barely see herself anymore. A strong breeze blew past as she turned onto Gray's street. The air did not separate and pass around her like it normally would. She couldn't feel it catching her dress. Even the wind refused to acknowledge her. A pink haired wizard rolled a wheelchair up to the front of Gray's house. Had he finally been released from the hospital? She heart Natsu chuckle lightly at something the ice mage said. It gave her hope that the dragon slayer would recover from his loss, even if she never would.

Their last encounter had nearly taken away what was left of her. All of her energy, life force, and magic had gone into holding herself to the world to be with him. There wasn't a single ounce of her that regretted it, but it had taken her nearly a week to recover to this point. It was probably foolish of her. Surely, he would think it was nothing but a pleasant dream anyway. The thought sent a twinge of pain through her heart. Natsu would remember her, he had to. He wouldn't forget someone he loved. She watched as Natsu awkwardly pushed Gray into the house.

"I can roll myself you know." Gray's voice rang through the air. He sounded rather annoyed. It surprised her that Juvia wasn't here to take him home.

"Yeah, but I want you to have your energy for tonight. It's gonna be great." Natsu responded, his voice rather cheery. It pleased her that he didn't seem miserable.

"It doesn't take that much energy to eat, at least not the way normal people eat. Don't coddle me, I'm not a child." The dark haired wizard snapped, grabbing the wheels of his chair. She looked down at his legs. A pang of guilt rang through her. She should have tried harder to distract the wizard. Her life was taken from her anyway, she could have at least saved Gray so much pain.

"Alright snowflake." Natsu said, releasing his hands from the chair. Either something had been irritating his eyes, or he had been crying.

"You can sleep on the couch." The ice mage said, motioning to the large blue sofa in the middle of the room. "Just make sure to not mess it all up. If you spill something, clean it."

"Sure." Her love said, collapsing on the couch. He stretched out, making his body take up the whole couch. Typical Natsu, she reasoned.

"And for the love of Gods, take a shower before bed every night. I don't want it to smell like you in here, you freaking stink." Gray parked his chair beside the couch, giving the Natsu a warning look. Was Natsu staying here with Gray? That's the last thing she expected to hear. Maybe her death had brought the rivals closer together.

"Whatever." Natsu sighed, closing his tired looking eyes.

"Actually," The ice mage decided. "Go take a shower before we go to dinner. Seriously, you smell."

"I don't smell anything." Natsu sniffed the air like a puppy. "And I'm a dragon slayer."

"You can't smell yourself anyway idiot. Take a damned shower."

"Is that anyway to talk to someone who's here to help you?" Natsu asked, giving Gray a rather cocky smile.

"Trust me, I don't like this any more than you do."

"I'm sure Juvia would be more than happy to come stay with you." Natsu grinned, calling Gray out. The celestial wizard couldn't help but wonder why he was keeping her away.

"I'd rather be back in the damned hospital." Gray mumbled, looking down at the coffee table. She'd never seen him look so annoyed.

"Don't worry," Natsu chuckled, jumping to his feet."You aren't getting rid of me until you can physically force me out the door yourself."

"I guess that gives me something to train for."

"That's right snow blower." The dragon slayer said. "I'm going to go take a shower now. Do you need anything before I go?"

"Nah, just hand me one of those magazines will you?" Gray asked, nodding towards the stack of magazines on the table.

"You read this garbage?" Natsu asked, picking up an issue of Sorcerer's weekly.

"There's a lot of hot chicks in here." Gray reasoned, flipping the magazine open to the center. She always knew there was more to him then just stripping. What a freaking pervert.

"Whatever man." Natsu replied, walking towards the bathroom with just a bit of red on his cheeks. Lucy had been in that magazine once or twice. Did Gray think of her that way?

The celestial wizard followed him, wondering how he would react if he knew she was there with him. He unceremoniously shed his clothes and stepped into the shower. If he knew, he would have probably made more of a show of taking his clothes off. He carefully untied something from his wrist and set it on the bathroom sink. She recognized it instantly, one of her hair ties.

She watched as he turned the water on, letting it fall over him uneventfully. She desperately wished she could step in there and shower with him. A shower in and of itself sounded amazing, but she had her doubts that even the water would acknowledge her. Her eyes trailed down his water soaked body. It was odd for her to see the fire dragon slayer so wet. She watched his face carefully as the water cascaded over him. His face was different now, sadder. Had he been putting on a happy facade for gray?

"Lucy," The words escaped his lips, whispered like a prayer. "Why did you leave me?"

His words set heavy in her heart, weighing her down in a way she hadn't felt for a while. She desperately wanted to call out to him, to let him know she would never leave him. Her hand reached out to him before she could stop it, resting on his shoulder. She focused herself, trying to make him feel her presence, but it was for naught. Her head started spinning as she felt her energy fading.

The dragon slayer snapped his head to the left, looking at his shoulder. Lucy's heart soared. He had to have felt her. Natsu sighed, looking down at the water flowing over him. She watched as a single tear streamed down the side of his face, nearly masked by the water.

"I miss you more than I could have ever imagined." He said, resting his hand on the shower wall in front of him. The white tile around his hand seemed to darken, like it was being baked.

"How could I let this happen?" Natsu yelled, his voice muted by the running water. He pulled his hand back and punched the shower wall. The darkened tile collapsed on itself, leaving a gaping hole in the wall.

"Oh Natsu." The celestial wizard whispered, knowing there was no way to make him hear her. She needed to get her strength back to comfort him. It was her fault he felt this pain.

Natsu pulled back and looked at the whole in the wall, swearing loudly. It seemed to snap him back into the real world. "Gray's gonna kill me for this. Good thing he won't be using the shower for a while. Maybe I'll be able to get it fixed before he notices."

Lucy shook her head. She always knew that her boyfriend's firey temper would get him in trouble. Could she still call him that? Was the dragon slayer still her boyfriend? He would be to her, she decided, until he found someone else. Then she would let him go. Until then, he belonged to her.

* * *

The smell of steak filled the air as Natsu wheeled Gray into the restaurant. Natsu's over-sized mouth fell open, watering. The pair was about to have a celebratory meal of Gray's release from Magonlia hospital. The dragon slayer selected a blue table nearest the door. He watched as the ice make mage wheeled himself up under it's edge, a perfect fit.

"What are you going to have?" Gray asked, his face covered by the menu.

"Steak." Natsu said, nearly moaning. It had been a while since he'd had a decent steak, and even longer since Gray had a decent meal.

"Don't eat too expensive, I'm on a bit of a budget here." Gray said, lowering the menu.

"Hey, I'm buying today. This is my treat to you for getting out of the hospital." Natsu argued, snapping his menu shut. Like hell he was going to let Gray pay for his meal after all he'd been through. Natsu owed him a nice juicy steak at least.

"No. I need to repay you for taking care of me the past few weeks. Hell, you just volunteered yourself to be my live in nurse. The least you can do is let me buy you dinner." Gray argued.

"You don't owe me anything." Natsu assured him, feeling guilty.

"You saved my life bastard, at least let me be grateful."

Natsu flinched at the dark haired wizard's words. No one knew he had almost neglected to save Gray out of worry for his girlfriend. What if he hadn't have snapped out of it and saved Gray at the last minute? Then he would have lost both of him. The dragon slayer could barely live with himself as it was.

"You can guy next time." Natsu offered. "Just let me get this one, okay?"

"If you're sure." Gray caved, his eyes returning to the menu.

"Are you gentleman ready to order?" A rather cute purple haired waitress asked, looking down at the two wizards.

"Yeah, I'll have the biggest steak you've got," Gray said, shooting Natsu a taunting look. "With mashed potatoes and mac and cheese."

"And for you." The waitress asked, turning to Natsu. Her brown eyes reminded him of someone.

"I'll take the same thing." He decided, trying not to look at her eyes. When would he stop seeing the celestial wizard places where she wasn't? Without thinking, he gave the hair tie on his wrist a little tug. He watched as Gray's eyes fell on his wrist.

"She kind of looked like her, huh?" He asked, trying to catch Natsu's eye.

"A bit." Natsu sighed, staring out at the restaurant patrons. One girl had an orange shirt, one with little skinny straps, just like Lucy had worn. Another had blonde hair the same length as hers, styled similarly. She was everywhere he looked anymore. He lost track of time staring out at the similarities.

"Erza said she's stop by tomorrow." Natsu said, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Oh yeah?" Gray asked, looking up at the waitress as she set his plate down on the table.

"She said she was going to bring some strawberry cake." Natsu said, slicing off a large slice of his steak. It was all he could do to not pick up the whole thing and rip a bite off.

"Strawberry cake?" Gray asked, taking a tentative bite of the steak. Natsu watched as his face faded from annoyance to something closer to enjoyment. "Is she going to share it or just make us watch while she eats it?"

"I wouldn't be surprised." Natsu mumbled, his mouth so full of steak the words were nearly indistinguishable. He wasn't particularly looking forward to her visit. Their last meeting had been something he didn't want to remember. Natsu had never felt more pathetic than on that day. He shook the memory away, and shoved a forkful of mashed potatoes in his mouth.

* * *

"So, do you need help taking a shower or anything before bed?" Natsu asked Gray as they entered the house. They hadn't really discussed the specifics of what Gray would need from the dragon slayer. The hospital had sent Natsu home with a packet of instructions, but he had yet to read it. Gray would know what he needed more than a stupid pamphlet anyway.

"Mavis, you sound like Juvia." Gray scoffed, getting a grip on the wheels of his chair to stop Natsu from pushing him any farther. "I'm still doing sponge baths for now, and I can reach pretty well everywhere that matters."

"Well," Natsu paused, trying to think of what it was exactly he needed to ask. Words were not his strong suit and he didn't want to risk offending the ice mage at this point. The bathroom situation before they left the restaurant had been tricky to say the least, but the two had managed without too much awkwardness. "Do you need help with anything else?"

"Could you help me get this shirt off?" Gray asked, looking slightly uncomfortable as he motioned to the t-shirt. Natsu had to wonder if not being able to strip so easily was bothering him. If nothing else, perhaps the ice mage would break his stripping habit.

Natsu grabbed the hem of his shirt and carefully worked it up, making sure not to snag any of Gray's bandages along the way. He pulled the neck of the shirt over the ice mage's head. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Gray responded, pulling his shirt the rest of the way off. He wadded it up in his lap in a way that covered as much of his front as possible. "Can you help me get into bed? I'm beat."

"Of course." Natsu said, grabbing Gray's wheelchair and pushing him into his bedroom. He snatched the shirt of Gray's lap and shoved it in Gray's laundry bin, happy that Mira had volunteered herself for his laundry duty. "How do you want to do this?"

"Like we did at the restaurant, but don't try to pull down my shorts this time." Gray paused, a look of annoyance playing across his face. "Actually, never do that. I can at least manage that one myself."

"Good, you're gross anyway." Natsu teased, wrapping his arm around Gray's back. The rough bandages rubbed against the skin of his forearm. They had to be rather uncomfortable. He slipped his other arm under Gray's good leg and carefully lifted him onto the bed.

"Thanks." Gray mumbled, ignoring the dragon slayer's comment.

"Want a blanket or anything?" He asked, eyeing the ice mage thoughtfully. Natsu hoped he would at least be a bit more comfortable in his own bed.

"No, but theres some in the closet in the hallway if you need some." Gray responded. "And don't make a mess of my couch."

"Relax, I won't mess up your precious couch popsicle pants."

"Flame brain."

"Goodnight Gray."

"Night Natsu."


	10. Iced Comfort

**A/N: I do not in any way shape or form own Fairy Tail. *sad face***

 **Here is chapter ten my lovelies:**

Gray sat at the island counter in the middle of his kitchen. The smell of sizzling bacon filled the air. Gray had never expected Natsu was actually able to cook. The past few days had brought him the pleasant surprised of a hot breakfast everyday. Although fruit and a granola bar was much more his breakfast style, the ice mage couldn't help but feel grateful. He hoped that all the protein Natsu had been forcing him to eat would at least help him recover a bit faster.

"We're going to need more bacon." Natsu announced, shifting the bacon from the pan onto a stack of paper towels on one of Gray's nicer plates. "You barely have any meat in this house."

"Erza came by and threw away most of what I had before I got home. Several weeks in the hospital tends to leave your pantries scarce." Gray said, straining to get a look at the plate of bacon. Natsu style breakfasts were really growing on him. "She's going to take me to my appointments today by the way."

"What am I supposed to do all day then?" Natsu groaned, setting the heaping plate of bacon in front of his friend. He turned back to the stove to finish their scrambled eggs, topping them with just a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.

"Take a mission. God knows you've been complaining about broke as much as Lucy." Gray said, promptly shoving a whole piece of bacon in his mouth. The salt sitting on the table tipped over, spilling it's contents at him. He shot the dragon slayer a warning look as eggs were slid onto his plate.

"I didn't do it droopy eyes. Why has Erza been coming around so much lately anyway?" Natsu asked, his mouth full of food. The pink haired man had fixed himself the last of the sausage in the house.

"She just wants to make herself feel useful I guess." Gray shrugged, taking a bite of his eggs. They were slightly rubbery, but he didn't dare complain. He could deal with an overcooked egg or two. The eggs were still edible, and drenched in butter from what he could taste.

"I guess I will take a mission then." Natsu announced. "I'll go grab Happy from Wendy's and see if he wants to go. Mavis knows I haven't been spending enough time with him lately."

"Mira told me he's been moping around the guild hall like a lost puppy without you."

"More like a lost kitten." Natsu reasoned, thinking of the exceed's feline features.

"It's a figure of speech moron." Gray argued, shoving another forkful of eggs into his mouth. He made a mental note to have Mira teach Natsu how to cook eggs.

"Shut up Popsicle breath."

"How is that an insult? Popsicles smell good." Gray scoffed, pushing his plate out in front of him. The amount he was able to eat at one time had shrunk quite a lot since the accident. Still, he pushed himself to eat a bit more every day. He wadded up his napkin and set it atop his plate. The ice mage rolled himself away from the table, ignoring the ache in his ribs as he did so.

Gray picked up one of the newspapers littering the counter and flipped it open to the front page. His eyes scanned over the headlines, looking for anything of relative interest.

 **Infections Death Toll Rises at Magnolia Hospital.**

"Thats odd." Gray mumbled, opening the newspaper to the article. Apparently three people at the hospital had died from a mysterious infection, shortly after Lucy.

"What is it?" Natsu asked, frowning at the remains of Gray's breakfast.

"According to this article, three other people died of an infection right after Lucy did." Gray said, reading the article intently. "It says here that they're not sure what the infection is. It doesn't appear to be viral, bacterial or fungal."

"What? How many types of infections are there?" Natsu asked, swallowing his food.

"Just three I thought." Gray said, furrowing his eyebrow in frustration. "It doesn't say anything else of importance. I wonder if that's what got Lucy."

"Maybe." Natsu sighed, looking down at his empty plate. The thought that a simple infection killed her, after all she had been through ate him up inside.

"I'm going to go chill in the back yard until Erza gets here. See yah later furnace face."

"Ice bastard." Natsu shot back.

"Try and have fun Natsu." Gray urged, wheeling himself out of the room.

Annoyed, Natsu scraped Gray's plate into the trash. The ice mage had barely eaten any of his eggs, and only half of the bacon. He quickly snatched the strips of pork off of the plate and shoved them in his mouth, saving them from the garbage.

The dragon slayer shoved the dirty dishes in the sink and turned the faucet on. Warm water cascaded over the dishes, mixing with the dish soap to make a smelly foamy mess. Natsu shoved the blue hair tie on his wrist further up his arm to keep it from getting wet and grabbed a grey dish towel from behind the sink. He never thought in a million years, that he would be doing dishes for the ice princess. He finished one plate and heated it up quickly, evaporating what was left of the water from it.

"Natsu!"Happy called, flying into Gray's kitchen.

"Happy!" Natsu exclaimed, very happy to see his friend. "I was going to come see if you wanted to do something today."

"Aye!" Happy said, sitting on Gray's kitchen counter. "Mira told me she was taking Gray to his appointments so we could have some fun."

"Huh, he told me Erza was taking him." He pushed the thought away and stared down at the blue exceed. "Do you wanna go on a mission today?"

"Can we go fishing instead?" Happy asked, staring up at the dragon slayer with big eyes. The flying cat knew exactly how to manipulate him.

"Sure Happy. It'll be just like the good old times." Natsu said, scratching Happy on the head.

"Good, cause I already got our fishing stuff! Its sitting in Gray's living room."

Natsu chuckled in response, the exceed was always over-eager for fish.

"Is it weird staying here with Gray?"

Natsu shrugged, drying another dish with his flames. "It's not too bad. The guys a neat freak though, and the whole place smells weird, like peppermint, kind of like Gray."

"This place does smell weird." Happy agreed, wrinkling up his little cat nose.

"You ready to go fishing buddy?"

"Aye sir!" Happy said excitedly, jumping from Gray's counter to the air.

* * *

The sun beamed down on Gray's shoulders as he sat outside waiting for Erza. He hadn't bothered to put a shirt on today, knowing how annoying it would be after physical therapy, with no one but Erza to help him take it off. The thought of asking Erza to help him undress made his cheeks turn a deep red to match her long crimson hair. Asking her something like that was at the bottom of his to do list. Even if they had seen each other naked during childhood baths, and with his stripping habit, for her to actually help would be very different.

The ice make mage stretched out his good leg, holding it out even with the edge of his chair. If he kept recovering at his current pace, he would be able to use a prosthetic soon. He had considered making a leg of ice for himself much like his teacher, but decided against it. He worried focusing his magic on holding it frozen all the time might drain his ability weaker. Natsu had argued with him, saying it could only strengthen him, but Gray knew better. If there ever came a time where he would have to focus all his magical energy into a fight, or even to save one of his guild mates, he didn't want to leave himself legless in such a situation.

Perhaps Natsu was right though, maybe constantly supporting an icy leg would help strengthen his magic. The dark haired wizard unwrapped the end of his left leg, sighing regretfully as he finished. It had mostly healed on the surface, but was still consistently sore. Gray had his doubts that the deep ache in it would ever go away, or even lessen.

The ice mage closed his eyes, drawing in the deepest breath he would manage and held his arm out over his leg. It couldn't hurt to try it out, even if his abdominal muscles were still too weak to support him standing. He could at least see if he liked it, or if he could even make something usable. Sometimes he felt as though he was much stronger than Ur had been, but at other times he still felt like a child looking up to his teacher.

"Ice make prosthetic leg!" He shouted, focusing all his thoughts and magical energy on the design he had in mind. He felt the icy coldness shoot down from the middle of his thigh. It soothed the impossibly deep ache in his leg almost instantly, taking him by surprise.

He opened his eyes hopefully and looked down. An icy cast cuffed the end of his leg, connecting to a solid form where the bend of his knee should have been. A smile played across the dark haired man's lips. The icy leg was almost an exact replica of his own, aside from a hinge of sorts at the knee, and the Fairytail guild mark on both sides of his calve.

"That looks great Gray." Mirajane's soft voice called from Gray's side. He hadn't witnessed her arrival.

"Hey Mira," He said, shooting her a proud smile. It was about time he get something right. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Erza wanted to take you, but she got called off on a mission so I came instead." The lovely Mirajane smiled. "You know how it is."

"'Actually, it's been a long time since I've been on a mission." Gray sighed. "Speaking of which, when is the last time you actually went on a mission?"

"Well, it's certainly been a while." Mira admitted, a small amount of blush creeping across her cheeks. "I actually try to avoid fighting these days."

"I know, but now that Lisanna's back, we kind of expected you to get back in the game." Gray said, wheeling his chair to face her. He felt the ice on his leg beginning to melt and reminded himself to focus a bit of energy into keeping it frozen.

"After she came back," The she demon looked down at her dress as though embarrassed. "I thought about it, but the truth is that I'm just not that person anymore. I went on a couple of missions, but I would really rather not fight, not unless I need to protect someone."

"That's admirable." Gray decided, thinking about his own fights. If Gray hadn't enjoyed the fight so much, he might not have been where he was now. No, every fight he got into, aside from those with Natsu, was to protect someone, even if indirectly. Somebody had to do it, and it may as well have been him. He would be stronger next time, much stronger.

"It's not admirable. It's just me." Mira smiled gently. "Things change people, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse."

"Oh?" Gray asked. "Do you think yours was for worse or for better?"

"Neutral." Mira decided firmly, walking behind Gray to the front of the house. "I can still fight for my loved ones if I need to, but in the mean time I can help people other ways."

Gray nodded. Mira was always helping someone, whether that meant cooking for the guild, entertaining them with music, or even taking Gray to his appointment, as much as he hated that someone had to take him.

"Thanks for going with me, by the way." Gray said appreciatively as he wheeled down the sidewalk. The ice mage had built his endurance up to the point where he could go around the block without having to stop, even if his muscles made him pay for it later.

"It's not a problem Gray, I really enjoy your company." Mirajane admitted cheerfully. "If Natsu hadn't offered to move in and take care of you, I would have. It's what we do in Fairytail."

"Hey Mirajane." Gray said, looking up at the sky. "Do you think it's going to rain?"

* * *

The rain came down in thick sheets, soaking the two aspiring fishermen to the core. Natsu dove onto the concrete under the edge of the bridge, letting out an annoyed huff. Happy flew in behind him, collapsing with a fishing pole beside his friend. The two boys were so silly. No one could outrun the rain. No one but Lucy, anyway. She looked herself over as the rain went straight through her. The celestial wizard had a feeling that if she focused long enough, she could probably force the rain to acknowledge her presence. Deciding better of expending that much of herself, she glided along under the bridge with the boys. She took a seat directly in front of her Natsu.

"This sucks." The dragon slayer announced, pulling a sandwich out of his pocket. It was wrapped in white butcher's paper, the type one got a from a deli.

"Tell me about it." Happy groaned, watching Natsu raise the sandwich to his lips. "And give me half that tuna sandwich!"

"Relax." Natsu said, pulling another paper wrapped sandwich out of his pocket. Lucy couldn't help but shake her head. Only Natsu would be carrying around tuna sandwiches in his pockets, or Happy, if he had pockets. "I packed you an extra."

Happy opened the sandwich in a hurry, nearly cramming it down his throat. Had Wendy been feeding the stupid cat properly? Surely she knew how much to feed him since she lived with Carla. Then again, Carla was a lot daintier than Happy.

"Slow down, you're going to choke on that." Natsu lectured, taking a small bite of his own sandwich.

"You sound like Lucy." Happy groaned as he swallowed his last bite of sandwich.

"What can I say?" Natsu sighed, staring straight in front of him. Lucy held her breath, deciding now would not be the best time to try and make another appearance. "She really changed me."

"I miss her." Happy whined, his blue paw resting on his over-filled stomach.

"Me too Happy," Natsu said, making what would have been direct eye contact with the celestial wizard. "Me too."


	11. Celestial Therapy

**A/N: I don't own fairytail!**

Gray panted hard, trying to catch his breath as he stared at his hands on the cool metal bar above him. Sweat ran down the sides of his face in small streams, soaking the pad below his head. His arm muscles tensed, bulging as he attempted to pull himself. They strained intensely, burning as they tried to compensate for what the ice wizard now lacked in abdominal and pectoral muscles. A strangled grunt escaped his lips as he managed to lift his torso off the mat. It was the tenth time he had accomplished the small feat today.

"Now hold it there as long as you can. Try to hold it even longer than last time." The physical therapist urged, earning a glare from Gray. It wasn't like he wasn't trying.

"I am." he growled through gritted teeth. Mirajane gave him a small smile of encouragement. Natsu normally left during his therapy sessions, but Mira insisted on staying, giving the excuse that she wanted to see what she could do to help him. Gray had internally scoffed at the idea when she mentioned it. No one could help him with this but himself. The red on his face deepened as he tried to keep himself up. Despite his strong muscular arms, the action was very taxing.

"Fuck." He hissed, releasing his hands from the bar as it became too much for him. He collapsed back onto the pad, a fall that was only a few inches. The ice mage cursed himself for being so weak and closed his eyes, trying to regain a bit of his energy. Making a mental note to see if Wendy was up for just one more healing session, he let his arms rest on either side of him, brushing against the bandage. Thanks to Wendy, and the doctors of Magnolia hospital, the skin across his front had mostly mended, leaving angry red scars, framing what used to be his muscles perfectly. He could have gone without the bandage, but he hated the look of himself so much he left it on. Lucy would have probably called him vain.

"That was really good Gray." Mira assured him, looking down with her big blue eyes.

"Shut up." Gray snapped breathlessly, eliciting a small frown from Mira. Nothing about it had been good, it was beyond pathetic.

"Actually, that was the longest you've held it yet." The physical therapist informed him, looking down at his clip board. "It may not seem like much, but you've got to remember Gray, you've suffered an intense physical trauma. I've never actually seen a patient bounce back from something like this as fast as you appear to be doing."

"It's still not good enough." Gray shook his head, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm still weak."

"The fact that you're still trying proves your not weak Gray." Mira chimed in, looking down at the sweaty wizard.

"I think that's enough for today." The physical therapist sighed, standing up. "But you need to run by the lab and talk to them. They need to get a vial of your blood."

"What for?" Gray asked, cocking an eyebrow. His blood had been taken so many times in the last month he was amazed that he hadn't ran dry yet.

"I'm not quite sure, actually."

"Whatever." Gray grumbled as the physical therapist tossed him a damp rag to wipe the sweat off himself with.

"Do you want me to help?" Mirajane asked hopefully, trying her best not to offend her friend.

"If you could just help me into my chair that would be great." Gray decided, wiping the sweat off his exposed areas of skin.

"Oh, of course." She replied. Despite her feminine petite appearance, Mira was nearly impossibly strong. The blue eyed woman pulled Gray's wheelchair up beside the cot and placed it in park. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Gray answered, reaching out for her to grab him by the arms.

Ignoring the motion, Mira reached down and picked him up bridal style, easily placing him in his wheelchair in one smooth motion. Gray glared up at her, biting the inside of his cheek. She looked down at him with a frown, wondering if she'd hurt him moving him too fast.

"Did I hurt you?" She asked, releasing the parking break on the chair.

"Only my ego." He sighed, looking straight ahead.

"Sorry." Mira mumbled sweetly, looking away from Gray. She hadn't meant to offend him.

"Don't worry. There isn't much that doesn't hurt my pride lately." He admitted, looking down over his body. He hated the way it seemed to betray him, unable to do the things he wanted to. "Do you think you can wheel me to the lab? I'm pretty exhausted after that."

"Sure Gray." She said, grabbing the handles on the chair. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot." Gray ordered as she pushed him through the double swinging doors out into the hospital hallway.

"Why did you melt your ice leg before we got here? It was actually really impressive." She said, trying not to sound condescending.

"Well," Gray admitted, glancing around to make sure no one was listening to them. "I'm not supposed to be using my magic much right now. They told me I'll recover faster if I don't, but I have to keep some sort of skills up or I'll never be worth anything as a wizard."

"You should listen to them Gray. The faster you get better, the faster you can get back to being yourself, right?" She asked, pushing him through the doors of the wing holding the lab.

"I'm not ever going to get back to being myself Mira. I'm not the same kid you used to pick fights with. I'm weak and useless."

"You're right, and I'm not the little girl who used to pick fights with you either. People change Gray. People get hurt, they get broken, it changes them, but they come out stronger. You're not the only one who has suffered." Mira said, her temper slowly rising.

"But Lisanna came back." Gray argued, coming to an abrupt halt as the words left his mouth.

"My parents didn't." She replied, her voice quivering. "And it took my magic a long time to come back to me after I thought I'd lost her. I know what it's like to feel weak, Gray." She swallowed in an attempt to regain her composure. "And Lucy was my friend too."

"I'm sorry." Gray apologized, looking up at the white haired woman. "I'm not trying to be angsty and depressed, it just kind of happens."

"It's okay." She sighed, resuming their walk to the lab. "I understand, really. Why do you think I was such a terror when we were younger?"

"I guess you have a point. Still, I'm sorry for being so difficult."

"You wouldn't be Gray if you weren't." Mira reasoned, pushing him up to the lab desk.

"Hey, I was told I need to come get blood drawn?"

"Oh, of course." Piped the woman behind the counter. Gray rather liked her. He'd had his blood drawn a million times over lately, and she was by far the most skilled at drawing it. She came around the desk and quickly wrapped his arm with a piece of blue tape.

"Why am I getting my blood drawn?" The ice mage asked, watching as she slipped the needle into is arm so fast he didn't feel it.

"Well." The woman frowned, as if trying to decide what to tell him. "It's a bit hush hush, but we're testing the blood of everyone that came in the same night as you and onward."

"Why?" He asked, as the woman applied a piece of cotton gauze to the inside of his arm.

"Checking for infection. Nobody can seem to figure out quite what it is. It's a mystery really."

"Some mystery." Gray huffed, looking up at Mirajane. "You ready?"

"Let's go." She said, spinning Gray's chair to face the opposite direction. Something was up, and she didn't like it.

* * *

The guild hall was full of the normal busy bustling noises. Cana was drinking in the corner with a surprising partner. Levy was sitting just to the brunette's left, a wooden mug in her hand. Gajeel stood beside her, peering into her cup curiously. The bookworm hiccuped and clamped her small dainty hand over her mouth, embarrassed at the sound that escaped her lips. The iron dragon slayer broke out in a roar of laughter, gently patting the blue haired lady on the back, deepening her blush.

Seeing their sweet little interactions made Natsu smile sadly. He remembered when Lucy and he had acted like that, their relationship shinning and new. The fire dragon slayer adverted his gaze and looked over to the counter where Mira and Lisanna were talking. He slid onto the leather topped stool beside his old friend, earning a small smile.

"I haven't seen you here for a while." Lisanna said softly, taking a small sip of her iced tea.

"I haven't been to the guild since, well, since the day after Lucy died." Natsu admitted.

"How are you holding up Natsu?" Mirajane asked, wiping the bar down with a rag.

"I've been keeping busy, helping Gray out." Natsu sighed. Perhaps he had come back to the guild a bit too soon.

"When I talked to him the other day, he seemed a bit worried about you." Mira said.

"Stupid ice bastard." Natsu swore, shaking his head. "He should worried about himself, not me. I'm as good as I'm gonna be, at least for now. He doesn't need to be worried about me."

"He's your friend." Lisanna pointed out, turning to face the pink haired man.

"So are you, and you're not going around telling people how worried you are about me."

Lisanna bit her lower lip as though to keep from speaking. Natsu frowned at her, the temperature of his skin raising.

"Don't worry about me Lisanna." Natsu assured her. "I got through losing you. I'll get through losing her too, even if-"

Lisanna's tea glass shattered, soaking the counter top in iced tea littered with glass shards.

"It takes a life time." The dragon slayer finished, looking around confused. He caught a scent in the air around them, familiar like vanilla tea. He looked down at the mess, grabbing Mira's rag to try and soak some of it up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just cut my hand a little bit." Lisanna frowned, holding out her hand as a small little dribble of blood fell onto the counter top.

Mira grabbed a clean rag from behind the counter and tossed it too her. Natsu quickly snatched it out of her hand and held it out. "Here, let me help you with that." He said, slowly winding the clean cloth around the cut on Lisanna's hand. It wasn't deep, but it was long, taking up a good two thirds of her hand.

Lucy sat beside Mirajane, embarrassed that her possessiveness of Natsu had gotten Lisanna hurt. There was no possible way that she could be ready to give Natsu up just yet, but eventually she oped her boyfriend found happiness. Even if she couldn't be happy, the dragon slayer deserved happiness.

She got up and walked out of the guild hall shamefully. The celestial wizard had heard of vengeful spirits, but she didn't consider herself to be one. Hell, she didn't consider herself to be a spirit at all. Her energy had been able to manifest long enough to make herself whole once, surely it would be again, eventually.

As much as she felt bound to Natsu, she knew she was no longer bound to this world. The blonde couldn't help but wonder if it was how her celestial spirits felt, bound to her, but not bound to the human world. Along with all her human friends, she missed the company of her celestial spirits. Maybe if she had been able to find her keys, she would have been able to manifest herself long enough to summon one of them. Even her little dog Plue would be of some comfort. Lucy's chocolate eyes widened as she remembered, she had been able to summon Loke without her key before. Maybe if she focused enough, she could do it again. Would Loke even be able to sense her presence if she managed it. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, deciding it was worth the effort to try.

Her mind pleaded with the heavens, trying to get the lion's attention. She felt her body shaking, fading in and out of existence. She released her breath in a loud scream, pouring all of the energy she had left of herself into it. The celestial wizard's eyes snapped open as she realized she was no longer alone.

"Lucy." The voice came from behind her, soft like the purr of a small kitten.

 **A/N: So, some of you have made guesses as to where this story is going, but my lips are sealed.**

 **For the record, I in no way shape of form ship NaLi.**

 **I do ship NaLu, Grayza, Gray/Mira, Gratsu, and LoLu, pretty much in that order.**

 **That being said, I also go out of my way to write ships I don't care for, and some I do care for.**

 **(The exception being Gruvia, it's just not for me.)**

 **Who do you want your favorite character's to end up with?**

 **What do you don't want to see?**

 **I've already got it planned out, but I am not adverse to changing a few things if the general consensus is strong enough.**

 **I hope you're enjoying this story.**

 **X Aud.**


	12. The Summoning of Loke

**A/N: I do not own fairytail.**

 **Here's another chapter. I think daily updates are becoming a thing for me now. (Don't keep your hopes up though. I go back to uni. on the 18th. ;) )**

 **I've got up to chapter fifteen written, so I'll try to keep the updates coming pretty regularly!**

"Lucy." The voice came from behind her, soft like the purr of a small kitten.

The celestial mage whipped her wavering body around catching a glimpse of her old friend. The pale look of surprise on his face was well contrasted by his untamed orange hair. Two ear-like peaks stuck out among st the mess, presenting him in his celestial spirit form. He tilted his tinted glasses down to look his old master over, a small confused smile spreading over his lips.

"Loke, I'm so glad you're here." Lucy confessed, taking a step towards him. She had been so long without contact with her friends, this seemed like the best thing that could possibly happen.

"Where is here exactly?" He asked, looking around. His eyes told him he was in Earthland, but the rest of him felt differently. The world around him was dull. The noises were quieter, the smells much tamer, his surroundings dimmer, and he had a feeling anything he tasted would be pretty well tasteless. "Am I dead?"

"What?" Lucy asked, scrunching up her nose at the thought. "No, or at least I don't think so."

"I heard you calling me Lucy. Did you call me?" He asked, pushing his glasses back up to their rightful place. It had never occurred to the zodiac spirit that he would still be able to hear her. After all, their contract had been severed when Lucy died, hadn't it? He had turned Lucy's keys over to Yukino, knowing she would take care of them. The white haired celestial spirit had yet to make a contract with any of them yet. Loke had assumed it was out of respect for Lucy's memory, to give her spirits time to grieve. What if she actually couldn't summon them?

"Well," The blonde whispered, the faintest trace of a rose color creeping across her cheeks. "I did. I'm sorry."

He reached forward and wrapped his arms around her, cloaking her in a tight hug. Normally he wouldn't have done such a thing, not with a girl who belonged to another, but these were special circumstances. The celestial spirit felt her shrink into his arms. The girl certainly felt real enough. "Don't be sorry Lucy. This is amazing, actually." He pulled away and looked down at her. "I never thought I was going to see you again."

"Neither did I, not since the funeral." Lucy swallowed hard, looking down at her feet. "My funeral."

"You were there?" Loke asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"No Loke, I thought I would skip my own funeral." She rolled her eyes, facing him again.

"Well," He rubbed the back of his head, flustered. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah," Lucy sighed, trying to not recall the memory. "I saw you and Natsu talking against the gate. I can't believe you were late to my funeral."

"Was it really a funeral if you're not dead?" Loke countered, grinning at the blonde with his sharp canines glinting in the dulled sunlight.

"I'm dead Loke." Lucy informed him, the certainty in her voice shooting pain through his chest. He couldn't stand to see the girl so hopeless. Lucy was way to strong to be acting this way after summoning him.

"By that logic, then I'm dead too." Loke argued. "You summoned me here, wherever here is, and now I'm here with you. If this is the afterlife, then I'm dead too." The lion chucked, a small smile making it's way back across his face. "And here I thought I was supposed to be all but immortal."

"This is Earthland." Lucy assured him, scanning the area around them. She gestured to the guild behind them with her hand, no longer marked with Fairytail's symbol. "Everyone is in there. They're laughing, drinking, fighting. We can walk in there and they won't see me. This world is blind to me." A small leaf blew off a tree and was carried straight through her in the wind. The smile fell from Loke's mouth. "See? Even the leaves don't even believe that I'm here."

"You seem real enough to me." He said, letting his eyes wander over to the doors of the guild hall. He had to wonder if they would notice him either. For Lucy's sake, he decided not to find out just yet. The celestial spirit reached his hand out to comfort his shoulder, but paused in shock as he realized his hand was almost translucent.

"See?" Lucy asked, noticing his gaze. "You're not real here with me either."

"Are there other people here with you too?" Loke asked, unable to take his eyes off of his hand. He balled it up into a fist, feeling his nails digging into his skin. He could sense himself at least, but the appearance was mesmerizing.

"Not that I've seen." She sighed, staring out into the street. "And I've even tried hanging out in grave yards. I think I'm the only one here."

"Not anymore." Loke assured her, lightly patting his upset master's back. "I'm here with you."

"Loke." She whispered, refusing to look at him. "I think you should go back."

"What?" He asked, his drown deepening. It seemed like ages since he had last seen him "Why?"

"Because I need to make sure you still can." She admitted, staring up at him. "I'll call you back soon, I just need to know."

The lion nodded, giving her a pitiful look, and dissipated into the air as though he'd never been there. A small sob escaped the celestial wizard's lips.

* * *

The smell of frying fish filled the air as Natsu walked into Gray's kitchen. The dragon slayer had originally viewed the room as giant, wondering why anyone would need that much room to cook. After cooking a few meals under Gray's, what Natsu considered extreme, cleaning standards, he was grateful for the extra space. Today however, cooking was not his responsibility.

The pink haired wizard had started taking small jobs two or three times a week, enough to pay for his food and put a little back. In the weeks after the incident, he had depleted most of the savings he had been collecting. His original plans for the small sum of money was to take Lucy on a trip for their anniversary. Little by little he put a few hundred jewels away here and there, thinking he had plenty of time to collect it. Much of the money had gone to pay for a large arrangement of flowers for Lucy's casket. Although the guild paid for the funeral, Natsu wanted something a little more for his love. Too tore up to take care of it himself, Erza had picked them out and arranged everything. He couldn't recall if he'd actually managed to see them from the cemetery gate or not.

It didn't matter now, he reasoned, taking a seat at the counter. As long as Mira and Erza were willing to tend to Gray on the day's he took missions, he would keep taking them. Even if he couldn't use his savings for its originally intended purpose, he had a feeling he needed to save anyway. Perhaps the celestial spirit really had rubbed off on him a bit. His blue exceed friend zipped past him to take a seat next to Gray, a knife and fork already in paw.

"Fish!" He exclaimed, banging the ends of his shiny silverware on the counter top, earning a rather stern look from Gray.

"If you put a dent in my counter, I'll pluck you like a chicken." The ice mage growled.

"Gray, be nice." Mirajane suggested from over the stove. She had a small white bistro-style apron tied around her waist, perfectly accenting her curves. Natsu cocked an eyebrow as he caught Gray staring.

"Yeah Gray, quit being such a bastard." He said, lightly punching his rival in the arm. It was the first time in over a month he had so much as playfully picked at Gray physically.

"That all you got?" The dark haired wizard challenged, disregarding his bandaged torso and wheelchair.

"I'll take you down ice princess." Natsu said as Mira turned around with a plate of some sort of vegetable. She glared down at Natsu, a bit of demon's fire in her eyes. He hastily added, "As soon as your strong enough to try kicking my ass."

"Better." Mira mouthed, setting the plate down in front of the area between Natsu and Happy.

"You should be nicer to Gray, Natsu." Happy lectured, attempting to peak over Mira's shoulder at the fish on the stove he could obviously smell too. "He's your friend."

"Why do you think we fight?" He asked, wrinkling his nose at the vegetable smell. It was revolting. "What is that?"

"It's zucchini flame brain." Gray said, scooping a large portion of it onto his plate. "Normal people eat vegetables. It's important."

"I eat potatoes and they're a vegetable, corn too sometimes, especially if it's popped." He pointed out, refusing to look at the plate of green disks.

"Popcorn's not really a vegetable." Mira pointed out, setting too more dishes on the counter. "And potatoes barely count."

"Aye!" Happy nodded in agreement. "But you do eat lettuce when we have fish tacos."

"See, I eat vegetables." Natsu said, grabbing some fries off of one of Mira's food plates.

"Vegetable." Gray corrected, refraining from serving himself any fries. Natsu had noticed the ice mage seemed to be eating much healthier these days. It was probably a good thing. "I wouldn't think a guy who eats fire would be so freakin' picky."

"You're just jealous you can't eat it ice princess." Natsu said, shooting him a challenging glare.

"Why would anyone want to eat fire? Mavis, Natsu." Gray shook his head as Mira slid three pieces of fish onto his plate. "Thanks." He said, catching her big blue eyes as she took a seat beside him.

"Shut it droopy eyes." Natsu snapped, grabbing what was left of this fish.

"Squinty eyes!" Gray yelled, glaring at the wizard.

"They're really getting back to normal aren't they?" Happy asked, looking at Mira as he carefully slipped an extra piece of fish from Natsu's plate.

Mira nodded happily, slipping a thin slice of zucchini into her mouth. "I think they are."

"I saw that Happy!" Natsu yelled, snatching the fish from the blue exceed's hands before he could get so much as a bite.

"It's no fair." Happy pouted. "I'm hungry too."

"No yelling at the table." Mira lectured calmly, taking another bite of her food.

"Your plate is already full of fish! Stop trying to steal mine!"

"To be fair, this is a counter, not a table." Gray said, cracking half a smile at the beautiful white haired woman sitting beside him.

Mira gave him an amused look and slipped her thin hand under the table. Gray shot her a careful look, setting his fork down beside his plate of food.

"Sorry." She smiled, pulling her hand back up clutching a napkin. "It fell off the table. I didn't mean to bump your leg. I didn't hurt you did I?"

"You're not gonna hurt him." Natsu chimed him, breading crumbs falling from his chin as he spoke. "He may look all frail and fragile, but he's pretty tough."

"I do not look fragile!" Gray argued, being the one to break Mira's no yelling rule this time around. She raised her eyebrow at him, as if wondering if Gray noticed.

"If you'd take the bandages off, everyone would be able to see that." Mira said quietly, daring to glance down at Gray's abdomen. The ice mage hadn't let Natsu see in a few weeks, insisting on only changing them while he was at his appointments, where he made the dragon slayer sit outside.

"You can take them off?" Natsu asked, surprised. He figured as insistent as Gray was at keeping them on, it still probably looked pretty gruesome.

"It, uh," Gray stumbled over his words. "It feels better with the bandage on. Stuff can't rub against it then."

"Who would have thought a stripper like you would actually like wearing something." Natsu scoffed, finishing off the last of his fish. He couldn't Gray ever giving up stripping for good, so he imagined it was a temporary side effect of all the trauma he'd been through.

"Shut up." Gray mumbled, pushing his near-empty plate away.

"Was it okay?" Mira asked, eyeing the uneaten food on his plate.

"Aye!" Happy responded, smiling down proudly at his own empty plate. "You should come cook dinner all the time."

"It was excellent." Gray complimented, giving her a very genuine smile. "You should give Natsu the recipe so he can make it sometime."

"You sayin' you don't like my recipes?" Natsu asked, glaring at the ice make wizard.

Gray shot the dragon slayer a warning glare as an answer, and returned his attention to Mira.

"Or I could just come make it for you again." She offered, her cheeks reddening to match the bow on her dress.

"Tomorrow?" Happy asked, his eyes widening with excitement.

"Maybe not tomorrow." Gray laughed lightly, despite his annoyance.

"Don't want my company again so soon?" Mira cocked an eyebrow at him, watching his face for any disguised reactions.

"I didn't say that." Gray said, sighing. "Erza decided that every Thursday from now on is Chinese take-out night."

"Oh yeah." Happy frowned as dreams of more fried fish faded away from him.

Natsu smiled, happy with the concept of effortless food, no matter who it came from. "It will be just like old times!"

"Just like old times." Gray nodded, his face betraying his lack of enthusiasm at the idea.

 **A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful feedback I received on the last chapter. It really helps me get motivated to write and edit.**

 **I appreciate each and every one of your lovely opinions.**

 **You lovelies rock!**


	13. A Falling Out

**A/N: I don't own Fairytail.**

The guild hall was just a bit emptier than usual, half of the guild still in their respective homes sleeping off a heavy night's drinking. Gray looked down the bar counter to see Happy sitting next to Erza. She was working on a rather large piece of strawberry cake. Gray rolled himself a bit closer, trying to see what they were talking about.

"Why won't Natsu talk to me anymore?" Happy asked the crimson haired wizard, lazily nibbling at the remains of a piece of fish he'd consumed.

"He doesn't talk to you?" Erza asked, looking down at the little blue exceed who had taken a seat beside her. Gray watched as he tossed the fish bones into the trash can behind the counter, earning a thumbs up from Mira.

"Not unless I say something first." The cat frowned, looking down at his empty plate regretfully. "I know he misses Lucy, but it's been worse lately. We went to the shack the other day and he swore up and down that it smelled different. He wouldn't tell me what it smelled like though. It smelled like normal to me."

"He's just taking his time grieving. I wouldn't worry too much about it." Erza consoled it. It hadn't even been two months yet, of course Natsu was still grieving.

"Do you think he'll be back to normal soon?" Happy asked in a childlike voice.

"Well, maybe not quite back to normal, if you would call the way he acts normal, but he'll get better. It's a slow process."

Gray rolled his wheelchair closer, stopping Erza before she said anything else. If the dumb cat was upset, he would probably end up being the one to deal with it.

"Cake this early?" Gray asked, cocking an eyebrow at the requip mage's nearly empty dessert plate.

"Some days warrant an early dessert." She reasoned, tearing away another chunk of cake with the silver fork in her hand.

"I know what you mean." Gray mumbled, sighing deeply. "Can you run me by the hospital today? Natsu was going to, but he bailed on be, saying he needed to take some sort of mission. After this week, they're supposed to be less frequent though, so that's good."

"Of course." The Titania nodded, shoving the rest of her cake in her mouth.

"I don't think Natsu went on a mission." Happy said, frowning.

"Why do you say that?" Gray asked, wondering why Natsu would lie to him.

"Because he would have taken me." Happy decided, looking up as Erza swallowed the lump of cake.

"Maybe he's going on a secret mission to get you a giant fish." Gray suggested, not wanting to deal with an unhappy Happy.

"Maybe." The blue cat sighed, glancing over to Gray.

* * *

Natsu beamed with pride as he used a staple gun to hang white billowy sheets across the ceiling of his little shack. The walls had been freshly painted a deep chocolate brown, one that matched Lucy's eyes almost perfectly. He had gone to a specialty paint shop with a picture of her to get the paint. Natsu had made the shop worker redo it three times until it was right. She would have probably gotten onto him for giving the man such a hard time, but he didn't care.

Over in the corner, there was a large wooden trunk propped open. It was filled with momentos of their time together, a receipt from the first date they went on, one of Lucy's hair ties that Erza hadn't taken, and a wooden cup from their time on Galuna Island among other things. The fake salamander signature, from the day they met, was carefully pinned to the top of the trunk lid. If only he knew then, what he knew now. He never thought the blonde haired celestial wizard would change his life so deeply.

He sighed and turned around, facing the opposite side of the room. A large picture of the two of them was mounted on the wall directly in front of him. Another beside it was of Lucy by herself, smiling the smile that got him every time. She was wearing the first outfit he'd ever seen her in, one of his favorites. There were other pictures littering the wall as well, a couple of Lucy as a younger child, and more than a few of the old team. A hint of a tear formed in the corner of Natsu's eye. The team was never going to be the same again.

He collapsed on the couch, making a mental note to ask Lisanna for help making it a different color. It's worn red fibers did nothing to remind him of Lucy. He remembered the first time he'd brought her there. She'd teased him about the mess, asking exactly how old the couch was. Much to his surprise they ended up making out on the couch minutes later. He ran his fingers along the edge of one of the seat cushions, remembering how Lucy's porcelain shoulder had looked there as he pinned her down. Maybe it did remind him of Lucy.

This room filled with Lucy was not just for him however. He intended on moving somewhere different once he left Gray's, giving the guild a place to come and remember the celestial wizard. He had considered renting Lucy's old apartment for his tribute, but it was far too many jewels a month to be reasonable. Natsu's little shack might not have been where she had lived, but her memory could live here now.

The past few days Natsu had been relieved of his duties to Gray, he had been working on the shack instead of taking missions. His jewels were starting to run low again, but when it was done it wouldn't matter. He would have the perfect tribute to his love, even if it was just in his little shack.

* * *

Warm thick pearls of blood rolled down Gray's pained body, painting him a deep crimson red. A strangled gasp escaped his chapped lips, eliciting a smile from the hooded wizard standing above him. The ice mage dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands, the only movement he could manage. His body betrayed his pain, panting against his will as his chest heaved up and down in rapid succession. His struggle seemed to amuse the dark wizard, a small dry laugh leaving his mouth.

"Do you give up yet?" His voice hissed like a serpent, coiling itself in every inch of Gray's being. The thought sent a chill down the ice mage's spine.

"Never." Gray growled between gritted teeth. He had endured much worse, and was not about to let himself lose another friend. This was a burden he would bare alone.

"Feisty as always." The hooded man croaked, running his long finger along Gray's right leg. "This time isn't about experimenting. This time, it's about revenge."

Gray grunted in response, biting the inside of his cheek until the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. He felt the wizard's line slice into him, leaving yet another cut, no more than a half an inch deep. The raven haired wizard had heard of a death of a thousand cuts, but he'd never considered it before. Wouldn't a person be dead by the time one thousand was reached?

"Taking this on yourself won't save your friend, by the way." He said, drawing three consecutive lines on Gray's throat. Gray cursed the wizard as he noted their placement. As will all the other cuts, these would be non-fatal. "But, because you insist on doing this on your own, your friend gets too watch."

Gray glared at the wizard, watching as he licked his thin lips in a sickening manner. He hadn't seen any one there with them, at least not where he could see. He took another detailed look at the room, still finding nothing. "Liar." He spat at the wizard coldly.

"Oh, I assure you, you're being watched right now." He cackled.

"Who?" Gray pleaded, straining to look around the room.

"I'll only tell you if you'll let me play with them."

"If you have someone, you're going to torture them anyway. Why the hell are you asking my permission?" Gray yelled, the front of his head throbbing as a bit of blood ran down into his eye.

"Because I want it. I want to watch your eyes as you give me permission to play with your little friend." The dark wizard replied, a twisted glint in his eyes.

"Fuck you!" Gray yelled. He forced himself upright, breaking the wizard's bond with his fury, just in time to catch the slightest sight of pink blurring past.

Gray called out as he bolted upright in bed, pain shooting through his body like a thousand well-sharpened knifes. It was just a nightmare, only a nightmare.

"Shit Gray, are you okay?" Natsu asked, rushing over to the ice make mage. "I haven't seen you move that fast in years."

"Fuck." Gray growled, collapsing against Natsu. The raven haired wizard attempted to steady himself, willing his body to stop revolting against him at the sudden movement. It wasn't fair that something as simple as sitting up had to be so painful. Still, his tired body was no stranger to pain, and hadn't been for years.

"Holy shit. You just sat up by yourself." Natsu congratulated, wrapping his arm around his rival awkwardly.

"I've been able to sit up by myself for a couple weeks." He panted, suddenly very aware that he was laying on the dragon slayer. If Lucy could see them now, she'd have a hay day. Erza probably would too.

"Not like this. You've had to use something to pull yourself up, and I guarantee it wasn't as fast as that. You may not let me actually go to appointments with you, but I get updates." Natsu said proudly, releasing Gray's body. His skin felt just a bit warmer than usual.

"I think it was an adrenaline rush." He mumbled, steadying himself away from Natsu. Even if it was an adrenaline rush, he managed to hold himself up anyway. At least one could thing came from the nightmare. It was the first time he'd awoken since the attack with a memory of his dreams. Were there more like this he didn't remember? "Hey, why have you been getting updates on me? You could just ask me how I'm doing you know."

"Like you'd actually tell me." Natsu scoffs, leaning against the light blue wall of Gray's bedroom.

"I would." Gray said, folding his arms in front of himself. The dragon slayer just seemed too lost in his thoughts most of the time to be bothered by such things.

"Then why won't you let me go to your appointments? Waiting outside the building for hours sucks. I get bored." Natsu said, a tone of annoyance occupying his voice.

"The idea was for you to go out and do stuff idiot. God, I feel you follow me around everywhere. Do you know how much it fucking sucks to not be able to do anything without you around? Hell, I can't even get out of this bed by myself." He motioned to his bed, his temper raising. "Do you know how shitty it is having to rely on someone all the time? It's even worse when it's you. I mean, God, you even know when I take a shit. I need time away from you."

Natsu flinched, looking away from the ice mage. "Why is it worse that it's me?"

"Because I know you're only doing it because you feel bad, because it's what Lucy would have wanted you to do." He snapped, wishing the dragon slayer would just leave. Gray was still on edge from his nightmare, making him irritable. "It's worse because you're my competition."

"Your competition in what?" Natsu asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Everything. Fuck Natsu, everything. You're my rival. It's our thing. We beat each other to a pulp, recover, and do it again. Nursing me back to health isn't supposed to be in that sequence. Do you know how much it sucks to have the person you want to fight against constantly coddling you like you're an infant?"

"I don't coddle you." Natsu said defensively, his temper flaring.

"You act like I'm a child who can't do anything for himself." Gray stated, shooting a look of annoyance at the dragon slayer. "And I'm sick of it. My body may not fucking work right, but I'm still your rival. I'm the same person up here." He gestured to his head.

"Fine. You win. I'm done."

"Done with what?" Gray asked, glaring.

"Done with you. I'm out. I'll send Happy over to get my stuff. I'll make sure to stop in and tell Mira to get over here. I'm sure she wont mind and you won't have to see me anymore."

"Don't be an ass Natsu." Gray warned, wondering if the dragon slayer was serious.

"I'm not being an ass, I'm giving you what you want. Come find me again when you're strong enough for me to beat the shit out of you." Natsu growled, forming fists with his hands.

"Seriously Natsu?" Gray asked, arrogance leaking into his voice. "Where are you going to go? Back to that shack you call a house?"

Natsu's face reddened in anger, his body shaking at his attempt to remain calm.

"Well?" Gray inquired, hatred welling up in his throat. Natsu was such an ass he would really leave him here. Even if he did go get Mira, it was a really shitty thing to do.

"Fuck you, Gray." Natsu said, shaking his head and forgoing childish insults. He slammed Gray's bedroom door behind him, not bothering to look back.


	14. Mira's Fear

**A/N: I don't own Fairytail.**

Gray growled as the door slammed shut behind the pink haired wizard. He didn't need that asshole's help anyway. If Natsu was too good to help him, then he was too good to accept his help. The ice mage shifted himself to the edge of the bed, determined to prove to himself that he didn't need the dragon slayer. His abdominal muscles tensed, cursing him for attempting to much. He responded to their painful pleas by pushing them further. No one wanted a cocky asshole like Natsu around anyway, least of all him.

The ice mage couldn't remember why he had ever agreed to let Natsu move in and help him in the first place. Surely he would have been better off at the guild, not relying on one person so much. An annoyed laugh escaped his lips. He wouldn't make the mistake of relying on the dragon slayer again. Why would a person he loved to fight with so much decide to help him anyway, because he felt obligated? Apparently no feelings of obligation could keep him for long.

"Damn it Natsu." Gray swore, wondering if he was going to be able to make it off of the bed.

He swung his good leg off the edge of the bed, gritting his teeth as he felt a sharp pain in his left side. It would have to wait. Holding his breath, he reached for the far arm of the chair. He could do this without him. The asshole had said it himself, Gray was much stronger now. If nothing else, he would at least be able to get into his chair without assistance.

The ice mage pressed the heel of his good leg into the floor. The small, comparatively trivial injuries it had suffered were all but non-existent now. Gray decided it would be good enough to help balance him. Using all his arm strength, he lifted himself off the bed, aiming for the seat of his wheelchair. Just as he thought he was going to make it, he realized his mistake.

The wheelchair rolled back, the parking break not engaged. He lost his grip on the wheelchair, crying out as he made contact with the hard wood floor. His head hit the ground hard and everything went black.

* * *

Lucy watched as the ice mage's head connected with the floor, a sickening thud filling the room. His eyes rolled back into his head, leaving her with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was the closest to actually feeling something she'd come since her night with Natsu.

She rushed over to him, watching as a breath of air left his lips. He was alive at least, and for that she was grateful. The celestial wizard placed her hand over his heart, trying to sense his pulse, but it was no use. The raven haired man's breaths teemed much to shallow for her liking. If he was seriously injured and she was unable to help, she would never be able to forgive herself. Being dead sucked.

The celestial mage closed her eyes, picturing Gray's eyes opening. She gently moved her hands over his head. If she could focus her energy enough, perhaps she could so something to help. Even if it took what was left of her, she would be able to do something of importance with herself. Despite Natsu and Gray's fight, she knew the dragon slayer would be distraught if something happened to him. Especially now, he would blame himself.

Her hands pressed lightly on Gray's forehead, able to connect with his skin. The contact sent a surge of hope through her. She focused all her energy on him opening his eyes. What was left of her life and energy funneled through her hands and into the ice mage. It was working.

Lucy heard footsteps in the hall behind her. Maybe Mirajane had already been on her way over when Natsu left. Maybe Gray had a chance after all. The celestial wizard heard the door crack open behind her. She snapped her eyes open just in time to see Gray's do the same. A feeling of satisfaction pulsed through her as she felt herself fading. If nothing else, she did a little good.

* * *

Gray stared up confused as he saw Lucy's face mere feet from his own. He hadn't thought death would be so painful. After all he'd been through in life, he'd thought surely death would end the suffering. He snapped his head to the side as his bedroom door swung open, causing pain to shoot down his spine. A familiar face looked down at him, a frantic look sweeping across it.

"Mira?" He asked, his tongue slurring his words to spite him.

"Gray?" Mira's voice came. It sounded muffled, like she was speaking through a rather thick scarf. "Gray what happened?"

"You're not Lucy." He mumbled, trying to remember when Mirajane had died. They had eaten together yesterday. There had to have been some sort of accident.

"Gray, look at me." She touched the side of his face. Her hand felt nice and warm, like sleep.

He attempted to focus his eyes on her, wondering why she seemed so worried. If they were already dead, what did it matter?

"How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked, holding her open hand a foot or so from his face.

"Four." He responded, cracking a smile. The ice mage stared up at her hand, forcing his eyes to stay open as things became clearer.

"Gray?"

"Your thumb." He decided, looking past her hand to see her face. The raven haired wizard had never seen her look quite so concerned. "It's not a finger."

"Gray Fullbuster." Mira warned, glaring down at him. "Don't you ever do that again."

"Sorry." He mumbled, letting his eyes close for a moment before forcing them open again. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"What happened?" She asked, moving her hand back down to his shoulder. It felt nice against his skin. "Natsu said you needed me."

"Stupid bastard." Gray swore, suddenly very aware that he was splayed out on the floor in front of Mirajane with nothing but his boxers on. "He left me."

"He left you?" Mira asked, a confused look playing across her face as she absentmindedly stroked his arm.

"He said he was done helping me and left. I think I really pissed him off." Gray recalled, trying to focus on the morning's events. Everything was still fuzzy.

"And he just left?"

"Yeah." Gray admitted, the things he said becoming clearer in his mind. "Do you think you can help me up?"

Gray refrained from protesting as she slipped her arms under him to pick him up. He made a mental note to try and explain to her that such things were embarrassing to him, even if she was rather strong for a girl. She looked down at him with a frown.

"What?" He asked, getting the feeling there was something she wasn't saying.

"I think we should take you to the hospital and get you checked out."

"No more hospitals." He groaned. There was nothing he hated worse than hospitals at the moment, except maybe Natsu.

"You weren't with it when I got here. We need to make sure you're okay. I'm pretty sure you hit your head really hard."

"It would be a concussion, right? I just have to stay awake for a few hours and then everything will be fine." He reasoned, prepared to use every possible excuse to get out of going to the hospital.

"I don't like it." Mira scolded, brushing Gray's dark hair out of his face. Her tender touch surprised him.

"Later we can go see if Wendy will look me over." Gray bargained as Mira took a seat at the end of his bed. "I really just want to relax for a little while now. This morning got off to a shitty start, the last thing I need is some doctor sticking more needles into me."

"Alright." Mira gave in, folding one of her legs underneath her. "But only if you promise you'll tell me if you start feeling off."

"I always feel off lately Mira." Gray said, letting his eyes look over his body. He was on the mend, and quickly at that, but he was still broken. "But I don't any more than usual right now."

Mira frowned and gently placed her hand on the lower part of Gray's left thigh, receiving a sharp intake of breath in response. She quickly pulled her hand back, a look of worry on her face.

"No." He grabbed her wrist to stop her. It was the first time since the incident that anyone had touched him there that wasn't tending to his wounds. "I just wasn't expecting it."

"Are you sure?" She asked in a soft voice as she returned her hand to it's position.

"It's nice, actually." Gray responded, hoping he wasn't being too bold. He hadn't tried to keep his growing feelings for her a secret, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise to her. The ice mage had always had the smallest crush on her. He imagined many others had as well, as beautiful as she was.

"Okay." She smiled in response, running her hand just a bit farther down his leg. "Is this okay?"

"You can touch wherever you want." He replied, watching her blush as he realized what he said. "I mean, you're not going to hurt me. The end is a bit sensitive, but it doesn't hurt, not to the touch."

"Can you still feel it?" She asked, letting her curiosity get the best of her.

"Feel what?" He asked hesitantly, looking into her deep blue eyes.

"I read somewhere that sometimes, if you lose a limb, it still feels like it's there. Like, it feels like it's itching or something."

"Well, I don't." Gray shrugged, watching her hand carefully. "I barely even feel the last half of it. Maybe that's a good thing."

"As long as it doesn't hurt." Mira said, leaning closer to the ice mage,letting her hand fall to his side. He pulled himself up onto his elbows, ignoring the soreness from his fall. She leaned in closer, closing most of the distance between the two. He closed his eyes in time for her lips to press against his. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her down on top of him as he deepened the kiss. She tasted like orange honey, her lips parting slightly to breathe.

She pulled away, a furious blush spreading across her normally pale cheeks. Gray chuckled lightly at the sight, reaching his hand out to grab hers.

"Don't laugh at me." She demanded, pulling her hand away. Gray did seem to have a knack for upsetting the guild's head waitress.

"I'm sorry." He offered, successfully grabbing her hand. "I just never thought you'd actually go for me."

"Why wouldn't I?" She asked, turning up the corner of her mouth into a half smile, her deep blue eyes meeting his.

"Why would you?" He asked, gesturing to himself. "I'm a mess, and not much of a wizard anymore."

"Why would I care about that? I care about what's inside." She said, placing her hand over his heart. "Not that you're not attractive."

"I would say I'm a walking scar, but I'm not even walking yet." Gray laughed, using humor as his way out of talking about it.

"Some people think scars are attractive." She mumbled, casting her eyes to the side.

"Mira?" He asked, enjoying the lightly embarrassed look on her face.

"What?"

"Thanks for staying here with me."

She leaned down and kissed him again. This time it was deeper, fuller. Gray gently bit her lower lip, cupping the sides of her face in his hands. The white haired beauty pressed against him, this time closing the space between their bodies. He tensed up at the feeling of something pressed against his wounds, not expecting it. A small nip from Mira made him relax, melting back into the bed painlessly.

"You're not bad at that." Gray said breathlessly as she pulled away from him.

"Neither are you." She whispered in response.

"You know, everyone in the guild thought you'd end up with Laxus." Gray admitted.

"He's kind of an asshole." Mira replied simply, lacing her fingers with Gray's.

"Kind of?" Gray asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Maybe more than kind of." She reasoned. "I think we should take you to go see Wendy now."

"Now?" Gray asked, wishing he could stay in bed with Mira all afternoon.

"Gray, you promised me."

"Fine, fine." He said, deciding it wasn't worth a fight. He'd had quite enough of those for one day.


	15. Baby Steps

The sun was setting as the celestial wizard approached her boyfriend's old residence. She was exhausted beyond compare, but she felt empowered. Maybe there was a chance her life wasn't over. If she could do the world some good, there was no point in leaving yet. Hopefully Natsu would be home, sulking about over his fight with Gray. The blonde wasn't sure why she took so long to follow him, but she was glad she did.

She gathered herself at the door, preparing herself to see Natsu. The last thing that she wanted was to see him upset, but she still needed to see him. Lucy walked into the room, taking deliberate steps to make herself feel more human. A small smile played across her face as she looked around at the re-decorating that had been done.

"Natsu." She whispered, the word quietly leaving her lips. She hadn't expected that after her exertion earlier. Maybe she was finally getting stronger.

A figure with matted pink hair shifted on the couch, his muscular arm dropping off the side so that his hand grazed the floor. She walked over to him and lifted his hand to her lips, planting a small kiss there. Her smile deepened as she saw that her hair tie was still around his wrist. Maybe he wouldn't forget her for someone else.

She walked over to the trunk in the corner, picking up one of her shirts that had been folded neatly inside it. The thought of Natsu folding her clothes evoked a small laugh from her. The sound filled the room, nearly startling her. The world seemed to notice her here almost effortlessly on her part. She had to wonder if she was dreaming, even if she hadn't slept in nearly two months. How could she actually be here?

The celestial wizard slowly walked over to the threadbare couch, careful not to let her footsteps make the floor creek too loudly. She could feel the solid floor with her feet as it pressed back against her, and equal reaction to her action. That had to mean she was equal to the floor, that she was actually here. Gathering her courage, she gently placed her hand on Natsu's shoulder. Would he be afraid to see her now?

"Natsu." She whispered, leaning down into his ear. She gave him a gentle shake. "Natsu wake up."

"Lucy?" Natsu asked sleepily, his eyes slowly fluttering open.

"Natsu." She replied, a small tear running down her cheek and landing on his face. The small water droplet proved to her that she was real.

"What's going on?" He asked, reaching his hand out to touch her. A surprised look formed on his face as Lucy felt him make contact with her skin.

"I don't know," She said, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "But it's wonderful."

"This is a good dream." The dragon slayer decided, pulling her down so that her lips were on his. "You feel so real."

"I am real." She said, forcing herself to pull back from the tender kiss. She had missed the firey taste of her love. "This is happening, right now."

"Don't tease me Luce." He whispered, averting his gaze. "I can't handle it."

"I'm not teasing you." She assured him, grabbing his hand and giving it a tight squeeze. "I'm here. I don't know how, and I don't know how long I am going to be able to stay. Usually it's so hard to stay."

"Usually?" Natsu asked, pulling himself up into a sitting position. "What do you mean usually?"

"I've been around." The celestial wizard sobbed, pulling Natsu's hand up to her face. "I just can't make you see me, or feel me, not usually. I have, once, but it almost took what was left of me. Now I'm here and I'm not forcing it. I'm just here." She smiled through her tears, unable to contain herself. "I'm here Natsu, with you."

The dragon slayer took a deep breath and released it, pulling Lucy onto his lap. "I don't understand it, but I believe you."

Lucy let her head rest on his shoulder where she could feel the warmth of his body. She had missed being warm. She closed her eyes, listening to his heart beat. Nothing had ever been more real to her.

"That night," Natsu asked, lightly rubbing her back. "Was it a dream or was it you? Did we-"

"It was me." Lucy cut him off. "It was us, together."

"I'm really glad." Natsu sighed, running his fingers through the blonde's soft hair. "You seemed so sad though. I didn't want our first time to be like that."

"I wasn't sad about that. I was sad because I didn't know for sure that I would be able to come back to you again. After I faded out I basically all but blacked out for two weeks. Being present takes a lot out of me." She admitted, softly kissing his cheek.

"Are you hurting now?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.

"No. I'm not even trying to be here right now, not that I wouldn't want to. It's automatic for me here. I don't understand it."

"Maybe it's because all of your stuff is here." Natsu suggested cautiously.

"Maybe. Maybe it's you. Maybe it's everything, but I feel tied to the earth here. It's not hard to exist here."

"How long do you think you'll be able to stay here?" Natsu asked, nuzzling his nose in her hair.

"I don't know." She admitted. "Maybe indefinitely if it stays this easy."

Natsu smiled in response, pulling her closer against him like he was never going to be willing to let go again.

"Natsu?" She asked, running the tips of her fingers over his chiseled arm.

"Yeah?"

"Did you miss me?" She asked, teasing him lightly.

"You have no idea."

* * *

Gray lazily picked at his breakfast, trying to force himself to eat. It had been a week since the last time he saw Natsu. The jerk hadn't even made an attempt to talk to him. From what Happy told him, he hadn't been in contact with anyone, the little blue cat included. He shoved a forkful of the perfectly cooked eggs in his mouth, and forced himself to swallow. The ice mage found himself missing the pink haired mage as he chewed, remembering how rubbery his eggs were.

"Do you still want to try it today?" Mirajane asked, taking a small feminine bite of her pancake.

"Yeah." Gray decided, eyeing the crutches over in the corner of the room. "I'm ready."

"Then you need to eat." She gestured to his plate. "Get some sort of protein in you."

"Sorry," Gray mumbled, shoving a large amount of the eggs into his mouth.

"You miss him don't you." Mira said knowingly, adding more syrup to her remaining pile of pancakes.

"As much as I hate to admit it, yeah I do. I wish that asshole wouldn't have ran off like that."

"He's your friend. You hurt his feelings. Stuff happens, you guys will get over it."

"I didn't say anything that bad, I was just being honest with him." Gray groaned in frustration. He never thought he would grow to consider Natsu such a close friend. Why was he the one the dark wizard taunted him with in his dream? It should have been Mira or Lyon, anyone but Natsu.

"From what you told me, it sounds like you were awful to him. He was just trying to help you Gray."

"Yeah, well, I didn't ask for that fire freak's help."

"Which means he did it of his own accord, which means he wasn't being the cocky asshole you normally paint him as. You know he cares for you. He just has to be himself in the way he does it."

"It still wasn't that bad." Gray argued, pushing his plate away.

"It doesn't matter if he took it that way. You need to go talk to him."

"He'll probably set me on fire as soon as I get near him."

"I don't think so Gray. He's hurting, and now he's hurting alone. Maybe he just needs someone to take care of him for a while." Mira sighed, clearing the counter of their plates.

"I'm in no shape to take care of anybody." Gray scoffed, wheeling himself back away from the counter.

"Well, that changes today." The white haired beauty said, grabbing Gray's new crutches from the wall. "Are you ready? Maybe we should try this outside instead."

"Here is fine, I think." Gray reasoned, looking down at his left leg.

The ice make wizard closed his eyes, concentrating on the same leg he had made the last time. He held his hands out over his leg and poured his magic energy into it. "Ice-make prosthetic leg!" An icy chill shot down from the middle of his thigh, forming a solid sculpted piece of ice. Gray opened his eyes with a satisfied smirk. He had managed the get the hinge in the joint perfect this time. There was no way that this one wouldn't work.

"You didn't even notice did you?" Mirajane asked, looking the ice mage up and down carefully, a little smirk playing across her lips.

"Notice what?" He asked, glancing up to her then back down at his new leg.

"You pulled your shirt off before you used your magic." She said, touching him on his bare shoulder. This was one of the first days in a long time Gray hadn't worn his bandages.

"Shit." He said, wrapping his arms around his front. He nodded over to the shirt flung on the other side of the room. "Can you hand me that?"

"You don't have to hide from me Gray." Mira said softly, handing him the soft blue shirt.

"A beautiful girl like you doesn't need to see me like this." He said, quickly pulling his shirt on to cover himself. He didn't want a soul to see his scars, let alone the girl he wanted to be with.

"It's not that bad." She shrugged. "They're kind of sexy actually. Your scars show how much you've been through, but you're still fighting. It shows how strong you are Gray."

"We'll see how strong I am in a minute." He mumbled, eyeing the crutches in Mira's arms.

"Do you want me to help you up?"

"Yeah. Can you bend down so I can wrap my arms around your neck? I think that's my best bet." He asked, praying to the Gods that he could do this without humiliating himself too badly.

She gently laid the crutches against the wall and kneeled down in front of her love interest. "You've got this Gray." She encouraged as he linked his fingers behind her neck.

Gray pulled himself up with Mira's help, her arms wrapping around his back as he attempted to steady himself. His whole body tensed as he tried to find his center. It had been months since he stood like this. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he caught Mira's eyes.

"What is it?" She asked, smiling hopefully.

"It's just really nice to see you at my eye level for a change." He admitted, using only one hand on Mira's shoulder to steady himself. Mira quickly released him and grabbed the crutches from the wall, gently slipping one under each of his arms.

The ice mage smiled, truly happy for the first time in a week as he realized he was standing on his own. Mira quickly pulled out a camera and snapped a picture of the happy moment.

"You're doing awesome." Mira said, a huge grin on her pretty face.

"I'm standing up. It's not exactly and impossible feat." He downplayed, though the smile didn't leave his lips.

"Do you want to try to take a step or are you too tired?"

"Hell no I'm not too tired." He declared, testing his new leg by shifting his weight. The ice wizard took a step forward with his right leg, his smile widening as his ice leg held. He swung the crutches forward and took a step with the frozen one. It bent at his will, taking just a bit of concentration to work it.

"That's incredible." Mira said, stepping out of the ice mage's way as he took another step forward.

"I'm barely getting anywhere, but at least I'm moving now."

Mira nodded. "Baby steps Gray, baby steps."


	16. Tender Moments

**A/N; I don't own Fairy Tail or anything associated with it. All rights go to the original creator.**

 **Here's a bit of wonderful NaLu fluff for you my lovelies. You've earned it.**

 **That being said, sorry for what-... Actually, I'll just let you read. Enjoy!**

* * *

There was a sharp knock on the door of Natsu's little shack. A muffled sigh came from the blonde wizard to his right, the sadness evident on her face. Natsu cast his gaze to the door. Neither of them had left the shack since Lucy had come back, and the dragon slayer was avoiding the inevitable. He feared if he left, Lucy would be gone when he came back. It felt like he had been years without her, something he was completely unwilling to return to.

"It's probably Happy again." The celestial wizard suggested, giving the pink haired dragon slayer a half smile. "You should really just let him in. He probably thinks you've lost your mind."

"No." He replied quickly. "Just one more day just you and I." The thought of anyone knowing about Lucy's return scared him. What if they didn't understand and tried to take her away? He wouldn't be able to stand it.

"Please." Lucy pouted, stretching out on the sofa that had been her bed for the past week, although Natsu doubted she had slept.

"One more day." He reinforced, walking to the door.

"Natsu!" A voice called from outside, drawing out the last vowel of the dragon slayer's name. The voice was unmistakable.

"Happy." He said, cracking the door open slightly.

"You're starting to freak me out Natsu." The little blue exceed pouted, trying to look passed him. "You can't just lock yourself in your shack and never come out again."

"I'm not locking myself in my house. I'm sick Happy, and it's contagious." He said, forcing a somewhat convincing cough. "I'll be okay in a few days."

"Can cats catch it?" He asked, taking a small step backwards. The little guy was awfully gullible.

"Yes." Natsu nodded, forcing another cough. He could at least buy himself one more day if the exceed would accept his story.

"Do you want me to bring you some fish soup?" He asked carefully, taking another step away from the door.

"No. I'll be okay." Natsu assured him. "I just need to stay in bed and sleep a couple more days."

"If you're sure." Happy said slowly, as though beginning to doubt the dragon slayer's story.

"I am. When I'm better we'll go fishing okay?"

"Okay." Happy replied, just a hint of suspicion still in his voice.

"See yah later Happy." Natsu said, forcing his voice to sound as creaky as he could.

"Get better soon Natsu."

Natsu nodded his head quickly, shutting the door and locking it in one swift motion. He turned to see his love, seductively stretched out on the couch.

"Smooth cover story." She said, making contact with the less than ill man she called her boyfriend.

"I can't tell if you're mocking me or congratulating me." He stated, laying on the couch beside her. Their bodies we're pressed together, the way they had been for the past week. As long as Natsu could feel her, he knew she was real.

"We'll just keep it that way." The celestial wizard teased, wrapping her pale arm around him. The dragon slayer released a content sigh, intertwining his calloused fingers with her gentle ones.

"Lucy." He whispered, a thought catching in his throat.

"What?"

"I don't want this to end." He confessed, giving her hand a tight squeeze. "I don't ever want to be without you again, not for a day, not for an hour. I just want to stay like this forever."

"We can't Natsu." Lucy whispered into his shoulder.

"Don't say that." He whispered back, shocked at the words of his love.

"But Natsu, if you don't eat you'll die, and we'll run out of food eventually." She teased, moving their hands a little lower on Natsu's body.

"Don't tease me right now Luce. I'm being serious. I want to make you my mate, forever."

"I am your mate." She said defensively, wiggling her hand out of the dragon slayer's grasp.

"No, I mean really. I want to claim you as my own. It will tie our souls together eternally. It's like marriage, but even deeper, more long lasting. It's a bond that lasts beyond death." He said, softly placing his and on top of hers.

"Well, that's good, because I'm already dead." She laughed lightly.

"Don't say that. I don't believe that. You're right here with me Lucy."

"Well, I'm not alive..." She trailed off, looking down at her pale body. It wasn't transparent, but it was almost there, like part of her was missing.

"You're alive enough for me."

"So, if this is like marriage, I want a proper proposal." She decided.

"Right now?" He asked, a smile flashing across his face. What could possibly be better?

"I said a proper proposal idiot." She laughed, running her hand up his side until it reached his underarm.

"Well, you've gotta give me some idea as to- Ah stop!" Natsu yelled as Lucy began tickling him relentlessly. "I'm gonna get you back!" He shrieked, rolling the two off of the couch and onto the wooden floor. He pinned her down, holding both of her wrists above her head with one hand and viciously attacking her ribs with the other.

"Natsu! Stop! Stop! I give up, you win!" She giggled, thrashing under the dragon slayer's heated body.

"Like hell I'm gonna stop. You started it!" He responded, running his hand up to her neck and gently tickling her.

"Natsu." She pleaded, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes crinkled at the edges from her smile.

Her smile affecting him, he leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. Natsu nuzzled the side of her face, still pinning her hands above her head. The dragon slayer left a small trail of kisses down her neck, sucking deeply at it's base. A small surprised moan escaped her lips, pleading for just a bit more.

"Love," She whispered as her boyfriend continued his oral assault, moving his lips down over her breasts. With gentle hands, he pulled her white tank top down and placed a small kiss on her nipple. He gently nibbled the skin around it, sucking gently.

"Lucy." He moaned into her skin, wondering how he got so lucky to have her back.

* * *

Gray felt Mira's hand on his shoulder, steadying him as they walked along the path to Natsu's shack. He found himself doing much better on the crutches than he expected, passing over the graveled path with ease. Mira gave his shoulder a tight squeeze as he nearly tripped over a large stone, but caught himself. They were nearly there, but the ice mage was staring to tire.

"Do you need to take a break Gray?" Mira asked softly, slowing him with her grip.

"I don't want to." He argued, slowing to a stop. "But I probably need to."

"Look, there's a downed tree over there we can sit on." Mira suggested, pointing to a rather large tree that had been uprooted resting beside the river bank.

"Probably blown over in the storm." Gray mumbled. In the past week there had been an unprecedented number of bad storms in Magnolia. The raven haired wizard looked to the sky above. It looked like there was likely another one brewing above them. "I hope that asshole lets us in. I'll have a hell of a time walking back in a storm."

"Gray." Mirajane lectured, helping him to sit on the log. "don't call him an asshole on your way to go make up with him. That's not a good attitude."

"Fine, that flame brain. Better? That's normal for us at least." Gray shot back, stretching out his good leg. Some of his muscle had deteriorated in the months without use and gave out a lot quicker than it used to. Despite Wendy's amazing help in his recovery, he still had quite a ways to go.

"Sounds like you two." Mira sighed, gently grabbing Gray's leg. She rubbed it in small circles, pressing hard to work out some of it's soreness. The ice mage had shown her how to do it two nights before, and it helped immensely.

"So," He asked, turning his head to look into her sapphire eyes. "Are you ready to be official?"

"Huh?" She asked, her cheeks changing color to match her dress. It was adorable.

"Will you, Mirajane, be my girlfriend?" He asked smoothly, grabbing the hand rubbing his leg.

"Of course!" She replied, leaning over to peck him on the cheek.

A large smile grew on the ice mage's face as he pulled her closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her back, careful to remain steady as he turned on the log. Never before had he heard such a sweet response. "Good." He said before crashing his lips against hers in a deep kiss. This wasn't like the small sweet kissed they had shared previously, it was something more.

Mira softly moaned into his mouth as he gave her hair a gentle tug. The ice mage ran his hand up her front, gently touching her breast.

"G- Gray-sama." A familiar voice choked out, breaking apart the couple's passionate kiss.

"Juvia?" Gray asked, whipping his head around and nearly loosing his balance. The blue haired mage stood in front of the pair, her eyes bright red and puffy. Overhead, the brewing storm clouds darkened, shading the three in darkness.

"Juvia heard, but Juvia did not believe it for sure." The water mage sobbed, taking a step back from the pair. "Juvia has seen too much."

"Juvia, wait." Gray said, seeing the pain of the woman's face. Although he had never considered Juvia in a romantic way, and she drove him nuts, he didn't want to see her in pain.

"No, Gray-sama." She said, stumbling backwards. "Juvia must leave."

"We didn't mean to hurt you." Mira said kindly, standing up from the log. Gray had to hand it to her, she was incredibly kind to be talking to someone who wanted her boyfriend.

"Get away devil woman!" Juvia cried, sending a large wave of water from the river her way, just barely missing the seated ice mage.

"Hey!" Gray yelled, struggling to find a way to his feet. "You leave my girlfriend alone."

"It's okay Gray." Mira calmed him, holding up her soaked red dress to keep it from dragging the ground.

"No it's not." Juvia snapped, raising her hands to the river. In one fluid motion she raised the waves along the river as far as Gray could see, pulling them back in preparation to strike.

"Don't do it Juvia!" Gray cried, eyeing the pink haired dragon slayer's cabin down the river. A large wave would take the unsteady structure out. Then the idiot would never forgive him.

"Juvia has no reason to listen to Gray-sama now." She said sadly as rain started pouring down from the sky. She cast an evil glare at the drenched Mirajane. "Juvia has been defeated."

"Please don't do it." Gray pleaded, catching her cold blue eyes.

The water woman looked away from him, readying her attack. "Goodbye Gray-sama." She moved her arm downwards in a swift motion, bringing the water with it.

"Shit!" Gray screamed, forcing himself to his feet despite the pain it caused him. "Ice make bubble!"

A large bubble of ice enclosed Gray and Mirajane just in time to not be caught by the wave. Gray felt himself fall to the floor of the frozen bubble, his tailbone nailing the ice.

"Gray, are you okay?" Mirajane asked from the floor of the bubble next to him. "You let your leg melt."

"Yeah." He said, looking down at the large chunks of ice floating in a small puddle at the bottom of the puddle. "I just panicked and lost concentration on it. I actually have to think about maintaining it or it melts."

"I feel bad for Juvia." Mira admitted as they landed on the shoreline, the wave quickly dissipating.

"I feel bad for Natsu." Gray replied, looking out at the nearly leveled shack the dragon slayer called home.

"Oh dear." Mira gasped.

"He's really going to kick my ass now isn't he?" Gray asked with half a smile.

"Maybe we should put off this visit for another day." Mira suggested, leaning against her boyfriend inside the clear ice bubble.

"I'm pretty sure Juvia washed my crutches away anyway." Gray groaned, looking out to see if he could find them sticking anywhere in the ground.

"Maybe you can make some of those out of ice too." Mira offered, turning to look at her ice mage.

"You're not too cold are you?" He asked, remembering that not everyone was as used to the extreme cold as he was. "I didn't even think about the ice being uncomfortable for you."

"No." Mira smiled shyly. "I actually really like the feel of ice."


	17. Gildart's News

**A/N: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

 **I have spent the past few days re-writing this chapter. There were a few things in it I did, that were just a bit too heartwrenching so I took them out for the time being. Don't worry though, I've already found them homes in future chapters. :) I'm still teetering on the edge of two possible endings I have for this fan fiction, and I'm not sure which way I'm leaning. Is there any way you would like to see it end? Let me know.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy my lovelies. Thanks so much for reading, it means the world and a half to me.**

 **XAud.**

* * *

The fire dragon slayer stared up at the cloud covered sky, his body covered in rubble that was once his home, Lucy's home. A pain struck him somewhere deep inside, although he showed no sign of physical injury. Everything he cared about was gone now, washed away in the wave. The counter to his fire, water had the potential to do nothing but destroy.

"We should get out of here before he realizes it was us." He heard a voice say softly. Mirajane. She had to be talking to the ice bastard. He didn't use water magic though, and neither did Mira. Had Juvia been there as well? The pink haired mage couldn't will himself to get up and find out. It didn't really matter precisely what had happened now. His love was gone, only the dampened scent of her left on the hair tie on his wrist.

Could it all have been a dream conceived in his broken heart? No, he decided, looking down at his body. He saw the soft, faded bruise where she had nipped at the skin on his chest. She had really been there. A large rain drop hit Natsu's forehead, snapping him out of his intense grief. The dragon slayer never thought he would have to experience losing the love of his life twice. He felt a small hand squeeze around his own under the rubble, but only for a moment. Maybe his love hadn't left him yet.

Tears ran down the celestial wizard's face, dissipating before they landed. She bit her lip to prevent a sob from leaving her throat, but it didn't matter. Her dragon wouldn't hear her anyway. How could this have happened? They were going to be together, forever. The pink haired boy she loved had all but proposed. Of all times for their home to be washed away, this had to be the absolute worst.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of white hair. Mira was helping Gray down the path away from the remains of the shack. The model's arm wrapped around the ice mage's back tenderly as he hobbled along on his leg made of ice. His muscular arm stretched over her shoulder. The pair paused to pick up a wooden crutch that had washed up on the edge of the river. The hint of a smile formed on her face. At least someone got to be with their love.

Lucy's gaze returned to Natsu's blank face. A second raindrop passed through her and landed on his face. Obviously, Juvia had witnessed Gray and Mira. The blonde never thought that Juvia would be the one to ruin her life, afterlife. If she were to ruin anyone's life, Lucy always assumed it would be Gray's with her incessant stalking.

She focused all her power into giving Natsu's hand a second tight squeeze. A confused look appeared on his face, like he was trying to decide if he was imagining things or not. The celestial wizard leaned forward and planted a kiss firmly on the dragon slayer's damp forehead. She knew he couldn't feel it, but maybe being closer to him would give her more power. Feeling brave, she dropped her face beside his so that her lips were hovering no more than an inch away from his ear. Her eyes shut tight as she focused. If she didn't do it now, she feared she may never get another chance.

"I'm still here." She whispered as loud as she could manage. It was barely audible. Maybe all the time she spent with him the past week had weakened her.

The dragon slayer's head whipped around, staring exactly where the celestial wizard's eyes would be if they were visible. She couldn't help but smile, knowing that she had been heard. It was possible she would be able to stay with him after all. The blonde haired mage watched happily as he pulled himself up, out of the rubble.

"I will find a way for you to come back to me Lucy." He said, his voice a reverent whisper. "That is my promise to you."

"I love you Natsu." She breathed, no sound leaving her lips. There was no doubt in her mind that the dragon slayer would do anything to get her back.

The rain came down harder as the battered dragon slayer set off towards the guild. Each step put him a little farther away from the place he had been with Lucy. He slowed down his pace, unwilling to put the distance between them. Natsu wondered if she was there with him now, walking along with him to the guild.

His house was a disaster there was no hope of correcting. If he didn't want to sleep on the street tonight, he would have to see if he could crash at the guild hall. There was no way he could stay at Gray's now. The damned ice princess would probably still not forgive him, even in his pain. The pink haired mage couldn't tell anyone about the pain he had suffered anyway. How could he? There was not a soul that would believe him if he told them Lucy had been with him in his house.

Lucy had mentioned to him that she thought Mira and Gray were becoming a couple. Maybe Juvia had caught the two, causing her to flood the area. But why would they have been on the way to see Natsu? Mira he could see being concerned about him locking himself away, but not Gray. That bastard's heart was as cold as ice. Perhaps Mira had melted it a little, and he'd come to make sure the dragon slayer hadn't lost his mind. Somehow, Natsu found that unlikely. Gray and he were nothing but rivals, and would never be anything more. He felt like a fool for ever thinking otherwise. He tried to catch the scent of either of them, but no avail. The pouring rain caught any scent that may have been in the air on it's way to the ground.

But if Gray hadn't shown up with Mira, why had Juvia flooded the whole riverbank? There was no reason for her to attack Natsu. They may have been elemental opposites, but they get along fairly well considering. The dragon slayer kicked a rock on the path, watching as it bounced away from him.

"Natsu, are you okay?' A friendly familiar voice called from behind him. He turned around to see his old friend Lisanna trailing after him.

"Yeah, I think so." Natsu shrugged, scratching the back of his head. He had expected to have more time alone with his thoughts.

"What happened to your house? Happy told me you'd locked yourself in for days, but when I got there it was completely destroyed." She yelled through the rain, quickening her steps to catch up with Natsu.

"I'm not completely sure actually." He admitted, thankful he could no longer see it in the distance. "I think Juvia might have gotten to it."

"Juvia? Why would Juvia destroy your house?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Collateral damage." He sighed. "I think Gray and Mira were on their way over for some reason."

"Oh." Lisanna smiled knowingly. "Don't those two make a cute couple?"

Natsu shrugged in response, kicking the rock away from the pair.

"Sorry. I wasn't meaning to be insensitive." She apologized, lightly touching his upper arm. "I'm sorry if it's painful to talk about guild members getting together."

"It's not that." Natsu sighed, Lucy's face flashing through the forefront of his mind. "I don't think Gray makes a good anything with anyone right now. We got in a fight and I left his house. Now I don't have anywhere to stay and my house is destroyed which I'm pretty sure is his fault."

"You could come stay with me if you need a place. You're pretty close to my oldest friend after all." She smiled sweetly.

Lucy and Lisanna had been friends. Surely Lucy knew that his heart belonged to only her, even if the pair had been close as children. His celestial wizard would want him to have a place to sleep, right? "I may have to take you up on that."

* * *

Mirajane watched as Gildarts entered the guild, back from another extended mission. The ginger wizard walked straight up to the bar, not bothering to greet the guild despite his long absence. The she-devil gave him a soft welcoming smile.

"Give me something strong Mirajane." He sighed, taking a seat. "And keep them coming."

"Rough mission?" She asked, quickly pouring him a small glass of strong whiskey.

"I'm not sure how much to say." He mumbled, quickly downing the glass's entire contents. "Is Makarov here?"

"I think so." She replied, pouring the powerful wizard another glass, this time filling it to the brim. "He had a meeting with the magical council earlier, but I think he's back."

"Damn." Gildarts swore, eyeing the overfilled glass. "I needed to talk to him before."

"What did you find out?" The white haired beauty asked, watching as Gildarts drained his glass again. She had seen the mage drink before, but not quite like this.

"The infection that killed Lucy-" He stopped himself, gripping his drink glass so hard it busted.

"What is it?" Mira asked, the whiskey bottle she was picking up, slipping from her finger tips back into its place below the bar. "I promise to keep my mouth shut."

"It's not an infection. It's something worse, the most evil kind of spell." He looked down at the broken glass, a small streak of blood running down his palm. Mira grabbed him a clean towel from under the bar and handed it to him gently.

"What do you mean, the most evil kind of spell?" She asked, her blue eyes wider than ever.

The mage muttered something nearly inaudible that sounded a lot like necromancy. Mira's eyes dropped away from him. What on earth could he mean by that?

"What do you mean?" She asked, forcing her voice to remain even. The barkeep's younger sister slid into the seat beside Guildarts, Natsu right behind her.

"I've already said too much." He mumbled, pushing his stool away from the bar. He quickly shoved a handful of jewels into the near empty tip jar. "Thanks for the drinks Mira. Put them on my tab."

"Anytime." She replied softly, trying not to let alarm seep into her voice. She turned to the pair who had just seated themselves at the bar and smiled warmly. "What can I get you two?"

"A new house." Natsu grumbled apathetically, a deep sadness in his eyes. A surge of guilt ran through her at his words. The whole thing was at least partially her fault.

"I'm really sorry Natsu." Mira frowned, pulling two glasses out for the pair. "Gray wanted to apologize to you, and Juvia caught us together. I'm sure you can figure out where things went from there."

"So the ice bastard has a heart after all?" The pink haired mage asked, earning an elbow in the ribs from Lisanna.

"Sorry." He mumbled, staring down at his glass as Mira poured a dark liquid in it.

"He's still your friend, even if you two are fighting." Lisanna pointed out, watching as her own glass was filled. She had been the one to chime in as the voice of reason for most of his life.

"Where's the ice princess?" Natsu asked, taking a sip of the dark liquid. Mira thought he might enjoy it. It had a summery fruity taste, like blackberry wine. A smile formed on his lips as he set the glass back down.

"He's home now." Mirajane said, thinking of how tired Gray had been when she dropped him off. Walking such a long distance had taken a toll on his not yet fully recovered body. On top of that, he was rather upset with how his plans to apologize to Natsu had gone, and she couldn't blame him. The white haired girl had nearly called in for her shift, but realized there would be no one else to take it.

"Do you think he'd let me in if I went to see him?" Natsu asked, a hint of doubt in his voice. He was taking the destruction of his shack well, or maybe he was just happy that Gray had wanted to apologize. The poor guy had been through so much already. Mira had her doubts that he would be so calm when he discovered the truth about the infection that had claimed Lucy, whatever that truth was.

"He'd probably appreciate that actually." She suggested, Lisanna catching her eyes. Her little sister always knew when something was wrong.

"Thanks Mira." Natsu said, pushing his empty glass forward. He set a few jewels on the counter in front of him. "Keep the change."

"It's on the house." She smiled, pushing the small pile back towards him.

"Thanks." He grinned, looking rather happy for someone whose house had just been destroyed. "I'll see you tonight, Lisanna?"

"See you tonight." She replied, giving him a small smile.

Mira watched as the pink haired dragon slayer exited the guild. "Do you two have a date?" She asked, eyeing her sister carefully.

"Oh no, of course not." Lisanna blushed. "He's just staying with us until he finds another place, since his house got destroyed and he can't stay with Gray anymore."

"I'm glad to hear that." Mira decided, taking Natsu's empty cup. "I don't think he's really ready for another relationship."

Lisanna nodded in agreement. "His heart belongs to her, and I have a feeling it always will."


	18. Friendship's Bond

**A/N: I don't own Fairy Tail!**

 **This chapter is a bit on the lighter side for the most part, and I really hope you enjoy it.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **X Aud.**

Natsu loudly knocked on Gray's front door, silently praying to Igneel that he wouldn't regret it. All of Magnolia was still under a heavy blanket of clouds, something the dragon slayer had a feeling would linger for quite some time. He tried to peak in the window as he heard movement, but it was too dark inside the house. Leave it to the ice bastard to want darkness in the middle of the day. Natsu couldn't help but wonder if his visit was a mistake.

As he turned to abandon his mission, the front door swung open, nearly nailing the dragon slayer in the back of the leg.

"Running away again?" A familiar voice called from behind him, more disappointed than pissed.

"I thought you wouldn't want to see me." He mumbled, ashamed.

"Get your ass in here." Gray demanded, holding the door open as he leaned on the door frame.

"You're walking." Natsu observed, a small smile forming on his face. He caught the ice mage's eyes for just long enough to see a bit of his pride returned.

"On crutches." He said, looking down at the wooden supports. "But it works. Now get inside before it starts raining again."

"I guess Juvia didn't take you and Mira getting together too well." He acknowledged, taking a seat at the coffee table. The last time he'd sat there, magazines were stacked on the table. Now there was a vase with a few brightly colored flowers, definitely Mira's touch.

"How'd you hear about us, anyway?" Gray asked, letting out a pained grunt as he collapsed onto the couch.

"Luc-" Natsu stopped himself, not wanting to sound crazy. As real as Lucy was to him, he knew that Gray would never understand. "Happy stopped by and told me."

"Figures." Gray mumbled, unwilling to make eye contact with his rival.

"I'm sorry I left." Natsu admitted, a half truth. If he hadn't left, he might not have had his week with Lucy, something he treasured more than anything. Still, he regretted leaving the ice mage in a bind, as much of an asshole as he'd been.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you." Gray frowned, looking up at the pink haired wizard. "It's been hard."

"Tell me about it." He replied quickly. The raven haired mage cocked an eyebrow at him, as if to challenge him. What was it that Lisanna had said? "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound insensitive."

"You're fine. I know it's been hard on you too. I mean, how could it not be?" He left out a defeated sigh. "First you lose your girlfriend, then you spend month putting up with a bitter asshole who doesn't appreciate you. I do though, appreciate everything you've done for me, even if I don't always act like it."

"I think I knew that." Natsu confessed, eyeing one of the large yellow flowers. The color was very close to that of Lucy's hair. "I just wanted someone to be mad at and you were being a jerk. It made you an easy target."

"So, are we friends again?" Gray asked shifting on the couch to take the pressure off his leg. "Or at least, what ever we were before everything happened?"

"You're my best friend Gray." The dragon slayer decided, thinking of what Lisanna had said at the guild before. "Even if we're rivals. That's just our thing, the way we work. I don't think we would be friends if we didn't fight."

"Don't get too mushy on me now flame brain," Gray said, feigning disgust. "I have a girlfriend now."

"I know that popsicle pants." Natsu shot back. It was easy, automatic.

"Friends." Gray said, extending a cold hand to the dragon slayer.

"Friends." Natsu grabbed his hand and shook it firmly. He couldn't recall ever shaking hands with the ice mage before. Maybe things had changed between them somehow, with all they'd been through. "Mira's really fixed the place up, huh?"

"You make it sound like it was a dump before." Gray scoffed, rolling his eyes. "But yeah. She's been staying since you left. It's only natural that parts of her would fill the house. When you were living here it got a lot messier. She's very sweet and feminine, so the house got girlier."

"Remember when sweet and feminine was the last thing anyone would say about Mira?" Natsu asked, letting loose a small chuckle at the thought.

"Don't remind me." Gray sighed, looking over to his girlfriend's bouquet. "Where are you staying at now anyway?"

"Probably just gonna crash at the guild." Natsu shrugged apathetically. "Lisanna offered to let me stay with her, but I think it would be too weird. We're only friends, but somehow I don't think Lucy would really like it."

"She's gone Natsu. I'm sure she would want you to move on." Gray said, a sharp pain radiating from his shin like he'd been kicked. A smile played across the dragon slayer's face as he watched Gray flinch and rub his shin.

"Just maybe not with Lisanna." Natsu smiled, repressing a laugh. He could have swore he saw a flash of familiar skin in front of Gray's leg.

"You can stay here if you want." The ice mage suggested. "Like you said when I got released, a cot at the guild isn't exactly comfortable."

"What about Mira?" The pink haired wizard asked, not wanting to put anyone out.

"Oh." Gray said, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink for the first time in as long as Natsu could remember. "I don't make her stay on the couch."

"Oh." Natsu replied, thinking of his time with Lucy. "So you guys are..."

"Not yet." Gray shook his head, rather embarrassed for a man who spent half of his time naked. "I can barely walk, let alone do that."

"Well, there's more than one position." Natsu laughed cockily. "She could always-"

"I'm going to stop you right there. You are literally the last person on earth I want to have this conversation with, except maybe Markarov."

Natsu laughed in response. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd be so sensitive about it."

"I'm not being sensitive, coal for brains." Gray snapped back, glaring at his rival.

"You know what I mean. As often as you strip, I wouldn't think the topic would embarrass you so much." Natsu admitted. He couldn't even begin to count the times he had seen him fully naked.

"Mira is different, okay?" He said, rubbing out the ache in his shin. "Are you going to stay here or what? You're beginning to make me regret offering asshole."

"Then I'll go ahead and accept your offer." Natsu decided, getting a bit of satisfaction out of Gray rubbing his shin. "I don't even have any stuff to bring with me this time."

"I'm sorry about that." Gray admitted, stretching his leg back out.

"Hey, how could you know your stalker was going to show up and take it out on my house instead if you." Natsu said with an exaggerated shrug. He would be giving Gray shit about this for as long as he possibly could. No one would have a clue just how much Juvia had taken away from him. At least he could try and make a joke of it since he knew Lucy was still around, at least in some sense.

"I'm pretty sure I was the intended target." He frowned.

"She needs better aim then." Natsu decided, earning a small laugh from his friend. Things were going back to normal. As normal as they could, anyway.

* * *

Two uneventful weeks had passed since Lucy's departure from Natsu's shack. The celestial wizard had appeared to her dragon slayer a few times, if only for a moment, to assure him that she was still around. The rest of her time she spent gathering her energy, saving it for a time when her love really needed her. There was no doubt in her mind, that when the time came, she would be able to force herself into existence for as long as he truly needed.

Small things she could manage without too much effort now. A small kiss on the dragon slayer's forehead, a gentle whisper goodnight no longer taxed her as they once had. Lucy felt herself growing stronger, but she doubted it would ever be the same as it had been the week she spent with him in the shack.

The blonde looked up at the sky over the cemetery as she approached. A few clouds floated around lazily, not casting depression as they had for the past few weeks. For that at least, she was thankful. The gate creaked in the wind as she walked past. This would be the first time she had visited her grave since her funeral. The thought sent a small laugh threw the wizard. It had never occurred to her that she would ever visit her own grave. Funny, how things work out.

A familiar blue haired girl sat at the base of Lucy's tombstone, a book in her hands that Lucy knew all too well. The celestial wizard walked up to her and frowned. "Levy." She sighed silently.

The solid script mage let out a small giggle as she turned the page. Lucy peered down to see where she was at. It was the first time Lucy had found Natsu on her bed when she got home. Of course Levy would find that funny. Even Lucy found it funny now, but at the time she'd been mortified. Who would have thought that crazy, socially inept kid would end up being her love? At least he knew her well enough to turn over the book to Levy. The thought that she was the one who ended up with it made the celestial wizard happy.

Lucy took a seat on the ground beside Levy, her back resting against her own headstone. She stretched her legs outward, noting that the grass had mostly overtaken the once muddy mound of dirt. The fact that it had been nearly three months since she died weighed heavy on her chest. The guild had continued on without her, but it was different now.

Even Gajeel had taken on a softer side. Lucy recalled seeing him watch over Levy as she got herself drunk in the guildhall, quite the roll reversal for the pair. The two were most likely a couple by now, she reasoned, watching as her friend flipped page in the hand written book. A pang of guilt shot through her as she saw a small tear rolling down the solid script mage's face. Lucy examined the page quickly, finding nothing tear worthy there.

"Oh Lucy." Levy sighed, closing the book softly. "We're all a bit lost without you."

The blue haired mage stood up and turned around to face the grave. She wiped away a small tear and offered up half of a smile. "I'll see you same time next week Lucy."

It hadn't occurred to her that her friends would visit her grave, let alone with any regularity. A soundless sigh escaped her lips as she watched her friend leave. Maybe the guild hadn't really continued on without her. Maybe they were all still as stuck as Natsu had been before she revealed herself to him. She couldn't bare the thought of it.

Lucy stood up, closing her eyes to focus her energy. The celestial wizard wanted no part of being dead now, not that she ever had. She extended her arm out, imagining one of her gate keys was enclosed in her hand.

"Open, Gate of the Lion! Leo!" She bellowed with all of the strength she could muster.

"I'm glad you called." A familiar voice sounded in front of her. Her eyes snapped open to see him standing in front of her. He offered her a smile that reached his eyes, masked by his tinted glasses.

"I've missed you Loke." She announced, wrapping her arms around her favorite celestial spirit.

"You should probably calm down before you make Natsu jealous." He teased, gently rubbing her back. "Kind of a morbid place to meet isn't it? Over your grave."

"Well." She sighed, releasing the spirit. "I'm dead. What exactly were you expecting?"

"I guess there isn't a normal for this, is there?" He asked, still a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"Have you signed another contract yet?" She asked impatiently, watching as the sun peeking through the clouds caught in his orange hair.

The king of the zodiac shook his head, looking down at the grass. "I'm not ready yet."

"Good." Lucy sighed. She hated the thought of her spirits having any other master, even if she was mostly dead. "I need you to do me a favor, if you're willing."

"You'll always be my master here." He said, motioning to his heart. The idiot couldn't stop flirting with her, even after she was gone. "What do you need?"

"I need you to find a way to bring me back." She said seriously, looking at the lion carefully.

"Lucy-" He started, a frown replacing his flirty smile.

"Just, try, okay? You've been alive for a long time. I know if there's something to be found, you'd be the one to be able to find it. I have faith that you can."

"I've never heard of anything like that before." He admitted shamefully. "The dead stay dead."

"And how many of your previous masters have summoned you after their demise?" She demanded.

"None but-."

"I'm not asking for miracles here, I'm just asking you to try. Please help me figure out something." Lucy pleaded with him, looking up at him with big brown eyes.

"I'm pretty sure resurrecting the dead qualifies as a miracle." Loke said, obviously repressing a laugh.

"I'm not that dead." Lucy said defensively. She could do things, things she'd never heard of before. Surely that was a sign she wasn't completely gone from the world.

"Not that dead." Loke sighed, offering his master a small smile. "I'll try, okay? But there's no promises."

"Thank you Loke." She smiled, wrapping him in another hug. "I promise you won't regret it."

"I could never regret helping you." He admitted, wrapping his arms around her before she slowly vanished.


	19. Holder Magic's Bane

**A/N: I don't own Fairy Tail!**

 **I give you fair warning, I think this chapter is a bit on the more intense side. I've reached the halfway point of this fic and things are going to start happening rather quickly. I really really hope you enjoy the little twists I have in store for you ahead.**

 **As always, I am eternally greatful for all your wonderful comments, favorites, and follows.**

 **Please enjoy.**

 **X Aud.**

Air blowing from the fan on the guild master's desk blew straight through her, rattling some paper's on the filing cabinet to her right. The short old man sat in his chair, thumbing through some documents that had been stamped with the insignia of the magic council. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he flipped the page. His mouth pressed in a thin line, he scribbled something down on a notebook to his right.

A disgruntled sigh escaped Makarov as Lucy took a seat on the end of his desk. It had been a while since she had seen the leader of her guild. She looked down at her hand, translucent to even her. Her guild mark was no longer there, something that still pained her. Even if she didn't have her pink guild mark any more, she still felt like she was a part of the guild. Once a member, always a member.

"This is no good." She heard the short wizard grumble as he tossed the papers onto his desk. He wore a pained expression that Lucy had only seen after he kicked Laxus out of the guild. The blonde wizard leaned over to look at the papers. They were written in some sort of ancient text, something that Levy would have enjoyed. How odd for such ancient texts to have the magic council's symbol on them. Obviously, they were copies, but the insignia seemed to fit into the text too easily.

"Master." Gildarts called from the doorway. Lucy's head snapped to look at the ginger wizard. He'd been so quiet in his approach, she hadn't noticed him.

"Gildarts." He nodded, motioning with his hand for the powerful man to come in. "I've not gotten much farther since the last time we spoke. Please tell me you have new information."

"Nothing. There's not so much as a whisper of it in the wind. The trail has gone completely cold. There hasn't been a new victim in two weeks either." He frowned, running his fingers through his hair to push it off his face. "Not that the last part is a bad thing."

"It's gone cold on my end too." The guild master slammed his fist hard on the desk, papers flying through the room. "Damnit. This must be stopped before it goes farther. It's bad enough that it's being done, but I won't stand for it to be done to one of our guild members. If there hasn't been a new victim, as happy as I am about it, it's a bad sign. That means whoever is doing this is planning something bigger."

Lucy moved to sit directly between the pair, thankful for perhaps the second time in her death that she couldn't be seen. The celestial wizard couldn't help but think they were more than likely talking about what had happened to Gray and her.

"I noticed something." Gildarts said quietly, picking up one of the papers on the desk. He turned it so that the magic council insignia was upright, his eyes scanning the page.

"What is it?" Makarov asked, eyeing the wizard carefully.

"Every single victim was a magic user, and every one of them used holder type magic." He stated, allowing the paper to fall back onto the desk. His worried eyes met those of the guild master's. Lucy frowned, trying to take everything in being said. It was just her, not Gray.

"I noticed that too." The guild master admitted, looking at the mess he'd made of his desk regretfully.

"Cana uses holder type magic." Gildarts sighed, taking a seat in the chair across the desk from Makarov.

"I wouldn't worry about that for now." He suggested, his eyes narrowing as the look of worry on his face deepened.

"Why do you say that?"

"Based on these texts, I believe the pause mean he's moving on to a different type of mage." The old man confessed, looking straight through the celestial wizard. She studied his face carefully, looking for any clues she was missing in his speech. "This infection is about to spread."

"You can read those?" The red haired wizard asked, nodding to the papers strewn on top of the desk. There was no doubt in her mind that he could, the way he'd been staring at them.

"Not all of it, but enough. From what I can read in the texts, the infection can lie dormant for any amount of time. Only when the wizard who infected them activates it, will it claim them. There is some serious dark magic brewing in Magnolia, and I fear the worst."

"Have you told him?" Gildarts asked, cocking an eyebrow at the master.

"No. I think it will impede his recovery too much. The poor boy's already got a lot to deal with." Makarov sighed. Did he mean Gray?

"He'll recover." He replied, gesturing to his two prosthetic limbs. "I did."

"Would you have if you were carrying an infection with the potential to turn you into a monster?" The guild master snapped. A small, near audible gasp escaped the celestial spirit's mouth. She didn't think she was a monster.

"I'm sorry." The guild master confessed, rubbing his temple with his wrinkled finger tips. "I just hate the thought of any of my children being the victim of such dark magic."

Lucy frowned, wanting to reach out and talk to the wizard. She wondered if he realized she was still around, just unable to interact. Did he really think that such a fate made her a monster? No, she decided. Makarov would never say she was a monster. It had to be something else. The thought sent a chill down the blonde's spine.

"We'll catch him before its too late." Gildarts said, speaking as much to himself as to the guild master. "What about Lucy?"

"If he never finished the spell, she won't come back. At least I hope. There's always a chance that if he dies, it will complete the spell, full circle." He paused, his eyes narrowed in thought. "If that happens we will have to act. Until then, I think it's best we keep it to ourselves."

"Don't you think we should warn them, her old team?" Gildarts asked cautiously, looking straight at Lucy as though he could see her.

"Not unless we have to." Makarov decided. "Everyone's already torn up. If the time comes, we will warn them."

Lucy slid off the desk and backed into the corner of the room. Whatever the pair was talking about, she had a feeling things were not going to bode well for her. The fear in the guild master's voice as he spoke of her struck a chord of terror within her. Her death had to be the worse thing to happen to her. There was no way something worse could be on the horizon. Life wasn't fair, and apparently, neither was death.

The celestial wizard ran all the way to Gray's house in the rain. She had to be with Natsu, even if it meant revealing herself to the others. If something was going to happen, if she was going to turn into a monster, she needed to be with Natsu at least one more time. It would be her dying wish, she decided, even if her life had already left her.

Lucy wondered how Gray would react to seeing her there. If he remembered seeing her face when he hit his head, things might make sense to him. Then again the ice mage had likely passed it off as seeing things from his head injury. Mira would probably take it rather well if she was visiting. The white haired wizard had always seemed very accepting to Lucy, even if older stories of her said otherwise. In the end it wouldn't matter anyway. They weren't who she was going to see. It was only Natsu.

She slipped through the house into the living room wall. Normally she passed through doorways to try to retain a sense of normalcy. This time she was in too much of a hurry to bother. There was nothing more important than getting to the fire dragon slayer. A smile spread across the blonde wizard's face as she saw Natsu stretched out on the couch alone in the dark room.

She stood at the end of the couch, gathering strength in watching his chest rise and fall. The only time the pink haired wizard looked truly peaceful was when he slept. Lucy wondered if he was dreaming of her and their times together. The celestial wizard gently ran her finger tips over his upper arm, tracing his muscles softly. His body was familiar, comforting, and after their week together, she knew every part of it in depth.

Natsu sighed softly at the feeling of familiar fingertips on his arm. He blinked open his heavy eye lids and smiled softly. Her skin seemed to glow like the radiant sun, his own personal angel sent back from heaven. A smile spread across his face as she leaned down to kiss him, golden curls spilling over his uncovered chest.

"You're back." He whispered, wrapping her in the warmest hug he could manage without making her uncomfortable. Natsu felt wetness running down her cheeks onto his shoulder. Pulling her body on top of him, he pressed closer too her. "I missed you too."

"Natsu." She whispered, her voice rough like she'd been crying. "Somethings wrong."

"What is it?" He asked urgently, pulling back to examine her face. Despite her glow, her eyes were red and puffy. She wore the saddest look the dragon slayer had ever witnessed. The sight sent a sharp pain through his body. As much as she'd been through, Natsu felt Lucy should never be made to cry. Whoever hurt her was going to pay.

"I heard Master and Gildarts talking." She sobbed softly, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. The pink haired wizard grasped her shoulder's tightly, holding on to every word. "I didn't understand everything they were saying. It's like they were afraid of being over heard or something. But Natsu, I think they think I'm turning into a monster."

"They know your back?" He hesitated, gently rubbing her arms. "Lucy, you could never turn into a monster."

"It's some sort of spell." She told him, her hands resting on his chest. "A bad one. An evil one. What if I turn evil?"

"Lucy," He frowned, reaching up to gently caress her face. "You're about as evil as a pair of bunny slippers. You're not going to turn evil. You're not going to turn into a monster. You're a beautiful soul and no magic, even the most evil, could ever change that."

"I'm glad you think so Natsu." She sniffled, her tears slowing. "But it doesn't change what I heard. I'm just afraid I don't have much time left with you here."

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked, carefully brushing away the golden hair that was sticking to the sides of her face.

"The way they were talking," She paused long enough to swallow. "I think if I do start to turn into a monster, they're not going to let me."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" Natsu said, wondering what she could have possibly heard to get her so upset. Surely no one could ever think Lucy was a monster.

"No." She shook her head softly. "I think they're going to kill me- or some how make me more dead. I don't know what to call it. I just have a feeling if something happens, I won't be here with you any more. I won't be anywhere."

"You'll always be right here." Natsu assured her, placing his hand on top of the once placed on his chest. A small laugh erupted from the celestial wizard's mouth.

"You sound like Loke." She admitted, allowing the dragon slayer a small smile.

"Have you seen him lately?" Natsu wondered. The lion had probably found a new master by now. Maybe Lucy had come across them somewhere in town.

"Yeah actually." Her cheeks reddened to a rosy pink almost the same shade as her lips. "I kind of summoned him."

"You can still summon your spirits?" Natsu questioned, a bit of excitement raising in his chest. Contracts with celestial spirits were broken when their masters passed away. If Lucy could still summon hers, it was a sure sign she was still alive.

"Not exactly." She sighed, her smile fading. "Just Loke. I've never actually needed a key for him. If I yell, he comes, as a general rule."

"Why didn't you call for him when you and Gray got captured?" Natsu asked, wondering why the bastard hadn't saved her.

"Natsu," She said, swallowing hard enough for him to hear. "I don't want to talk about that. Literally any other topic is fine. I don't want to spend my last days semi-dead talking about my last days alive."

"Don't talk like that Luce." He frowned, pulling her into him. "So, can I ask why you summoned Loke?"

"I asked him to see if there was some way he could try and bring me back to life. I just miss being with you and the guild so much I was desperate." She confessed, laying on the dragon slayer's chest.

"Did he know anything?" Natsu asked, trying not to let any excitement leak into his voice. Surely if she had that sort of information, she would have shared.

"He didn't, but he said he was going to look it up. Time flows different in the celestial world, so I'm not sure how long it will take him." Lucy said, planting a soft kiss over Natsu's heart.

"I'm sure he'll find something soon." He replied softly, running his fingers through his girlfriend's hair.

"Hey Natsu." She mumbled, closing her eyes.

"What is it Luce?"

"Will you hold me until I fade again? If this happens to be our last time together, I want it to be simple. I just want to be with you."

"Of course." He replied, wishing she wouldn't talk like that. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you too." She whispered, sighing contently.


	20. A New Normal

**A/N: I do not own Fairy Tail! Booo!**

 **Enjoy my lovelies!**

Pumpkins seemed to line the path wherever they walked in town. A cool breeze blew through the air, sending a chill down the white haired wizard's back. Gray wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer as he leaned on her for support. The ice make mage was down to one crutch for support when he walked, at least for short distances. The raven haired wizard had gotten quite good at using his prosthetic, but the muscles of his torso still not where they needed to be. If it wasn't for his injuries, Gray would have never known exactly how many muscles it took to keep a person upright. Now he could feel them all with every movement.

Mirajane reached up and gently grabbed the hand that rested on her shoulder. She smiled at him, giving his and a tight squeeze. He let out a content sigh as he felt her arm snake around his waist. They had reached a point in their relationship where things between them were easy, comfortable.

"Let's get some coffee." Mira suggested, nodding to the coffee shop up ahead.

"That sounds great." He agreed. The smells floating out of the shop were already hitting the ice mage, making him wish he could walk faster. After such a long walk, at least for him, coffee would provide just the energy boost he needed.

"It seems to be getting cold a bit early this year." She noted, pointing to the color of the changing trees. The ground was already littered with fallen leaves in shades of brilliant orange. Magnolia was quite beautiful in the Autumn.

"I hadn't noticed." Gray admitted with a small laugh. For him the cold was something he barely noticed until it started snowing. Then the world became his own personal playground.

"Of course you hadn't." Mira giggled, tightening her arm around him. Even through his sweater, she felt rather warm.

"You'll enjoy this winter." The ice mage said thoughtfully, thinking of all the date potential he had in the colder weather. He could make her the most beautiful sled in Magnolia or make her a giant igloo filled with cutesy sculptures inside. In the winter his magic potential was endless.

"I'd rather enjoy this winter." She said boldly, letting her hand slip into Gray's back pocket.

A furious blush covered the ice mage's face. "Soon." He mumbled, a promise of something more. The pair hadn't taken things very far. Though neither were virgins, he wanted to wait until he was better, stronger. Their first time together needed to be amazing if he wanted to keep a girl like Mira, something he wasn't sure he was capable of yet.

"I'm only teasing Gray." She assured him, sliding in front of him for a kiss.

He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, savoring the moment. If nothing else, Mirajane was an amazing kisser. She moaned softly into his mouth as her hand snaked up his covered chest. Gray braced himself to keep from flinching as her fingers ran over his scars. He didn't know that he would ever get used to them.

As if sensing his discomfort, the white haired wizard quickly laced her fingers around the back of his neck. Gray released his crutch, letting it lay against the red brick building to the pair's right. He gasped as she gently nipped at his lower lip. The raven haired wizard wrapped his arms tight against her waist, pressing her body into him. The sensation was nearly overwhelming.

The ice mage bit softly on Mira's lip as he felt her grind her body against the growing bulge in his jeans. If this kept up there would be no way for him to calm down enough to go into the coffee shop. Damn her for being so good at riling him up. He pulled away and stared into her heavenly blue eyes.

"Why do I always fall for your teasing?" he said, his voice a lust filled growl.

"Should I draw you a diagram?" She giggled, pecking him on the cheek.

"I'm not sure that would end so well." Gray admitted carefully, grabbing his crutch as the beauty before him removed her hands from behind her neck.

"Do you need a more physical demonstration?" She offered, seductively biting her lower lip.

"You've gotta stop." He warned, looking away from her. "You've got me all worked up."

"Maybe I like you all worked up." She teased, grabbing his hand, their fingers intertwined. "I'm just kidding, for now. Let's go get coffee."

* * *

"Natsu, wait up!" Happy called after the dragon slayer, a large metal bucket in his paws.

"Hurry up slow poke." Natsu teased, casting a glance back at the exceed. The pair was headed for the river for a day of fishing. The fire dragon slayer owed him that at least, as much as he had ignored him lately.

"This pail is heavy." He complained, pouting childishly.

"You've flown me places, and that bucket can't be heavier than me." Natsu pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's usually in battle and I have an adrenaline rush or something. Now you're just making me do all the heavy lifting." The blue cat complained, barely missing Natsu's head with the bucket as he flew over.

"Fine." Natsu sighed, shifting their fishing poles to one arm. "I'll carry that too."

"Now that we're almost there." Happy whined.

"Do you ever stop complaining?" Natsu asked, snatching the empty bucket away from the cat. It was nearly air light.

"I sleep sometimes." The cat thought for a moment and added, "And I never complain when I'm eating fish."

"You'll be eating fish soon buddy." Natsu grinned, the river coming into view.

The dragon slayer's grin faded as he saw the pile of wood and rubble that used to be his home. Someone had come through and cleaned up most of it, taking anything salvageable. All that remained was the remnants of the broken structure itself. A sigh escaped Natsu's lips as he thought of that day. It had been one of the best of his life up until that point.

"Are you okay Natsu?" Happy asked, looking at his oldest friend with big sad cat eyes.

"I'll be fine." He mumbled in response, setting the pail along the river's edge. He kept his eyes forward, refusing to acknowledge his crumbled home any longer.

"I hope we catch some swordfish." Happy said excitedly, grabbing his fishing pole from Natsu.

"What is it with you and swordfish lately?" Natsu asked, staring at the cat curiously. "You know we don't have those around here."

"Maybe Salmon then."

"Or those."

"Then a shark." The blue cat exclaimed excitedly.

"You do know this is a river, right Happy?"

"Aye sir!" He said, casting his line out into the river. "Maybe some tuna."

"Maybe some tuna." Natsu nodded in agreement as he cast out his own line.

"Natsu, can I ask you something?" The exceed said quietly, avoiding the dragon slayer's eyes.

"Sure buddy."

"Promise not to get upset?" The cat questioned. "I don't want to make you upset."

"What is it?"

"Do you think Lucy is watching over us?" He said softly, turning his eyes to the pink headed wizard.

"Do I think Lucy is watching over us?" He repeated back blankly. Of course the dragon slayer knew she was still around, watching over them. Natsu knew he couldn't tell Happy that though. The exceed was already more than likely worried about his mental state. A small half smile spread across the dragon slayer's face as he felt something brush across his arm. She was here with them, even now. A small sigh escaped him as he stared out at the river. There was nothing in the world he wanted more than to tell Happy she was still there, except perhaps having her back.

"Natsu?" Happy asked, placing his paw on the dragon slayer's forearm. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry Happy. I was just thinking." He confessed, turning to look at the exceed. Maybe he could tell him just enough. "She's still here with us, Happy. She's everywhere I look. When the wind blows through the autumn trees I see the way it blew through her hair. Whenever I walk by her old apartment, I feel her there. Sometimes I catch her scent, usually when I'm missing her the most, and it's not from her hair tie." He wrapped his hand around the blue cloth on his wrist. "I think she's still watching over all of us Happy, in one way or another."

"That was really sappy." Happy decided as a fish started tugging on his fishing line. As the exceed turned away to reel it in, Natsu swore he heard someone mumble _stupid cat._

"Did you hear that?" The blue cat asked, a fish already hanging out of his mouth.

"Hear what?" Natsu asked, trying not to crack a smile.

"I think you're right." He decided, sucking on the fish bones. "She's definitely still around. I miss her too, sometimes, most of the time. I miss you too Natsu, you're not the same with her gone."

A pang of guilt rang through the dragon slayer. Lucy's death had caused him to seriously neglect his exceed rearing duties. "Well, I'm back now Happy."

"Good." Happy leaped into the air. "We can go fishing every day now!"

"Maybe not every day." The dragon slayer suggested. "We still have to take missions to earn jewels. After all, I'm sure Gray will be wanting to kick me out again pretty soon now that he's shacking up with Mira."

"Don't say that." Happy scolded. "That's gross."

"Whatever." Natsu teased, reeling in his own line to find the smallest fish he'd ever witnessed.

"That's a pathetic looking fish."

"You're a pathetic looking fish." Natsu grumbled, tossing his fish in the bucket.

"That doesn't make any damn sense." Gray called from behind the pair, his usual slightly annoyed look on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Natsu asked, eyeing the ice mage over. "And what's that wrapped around your arm."

"They had to do more blood work at the hospital. Rechecking for infection or some crap." The raven haired wizard shrugged, walking up beside them."And I thought I'd come hang out with you two. Mira had to work and I'm still not really cleared to do anything."

"Fine." Happy decided. "But you have to catch your own fish. If you don't work, you don't eat!"

"Happy." The dragon slayer scolded, patting the space beside him on the rather large log. "Have a seat droopy eyes."

"Squinty eyes." Gray shot back, carefully lowering himself onto the log. Natsu stared down at his icy leg in awe. "And if you even think about getting near it with your fire, I'll freeze you from head to toe."

"Shut it ice bastard." Natsu snapped, recasting his line. "And I wouldn't do that to you."

"You might." Gray reasoned. "The next time we fight."

"That's too easy. I don't need to take cheap shots to beat you. I never have and I never will." He taunted, cocking an eyebrow at his rival.

"We'll see about that." The ice mage challenged in response.

"I'm really glad you guys are back to normal." Happy piped in, chewing on a fish Natsu hadn't even noticed he caught. "Everything sucked when you were both mopey."

"Hey." Gray growled. "Let's see your leg get cut off and see how Happy you are."

"I'm always Happy." The cat responded, tossing the bones to the side. "But I meant what I said in a good way."

"Whatever." Gray scoffed, making himself an icy net to attempt to catch fish with.

"Hey Happy, I bet you I can beat Gray at catching the most fish."

"Aye sir." The exceed nodded excitedly.

"You're on flame brain."


	21. I Love You Too

**I don't own Fairy Tail!**

 **Hold onto your seats ladies and gents...**

* * *

The fire roared and crackled in the fireplace, something Gray rarely found to be comforting sight. He pulled the heavy blanket closer to his body in an attempt to get warm. The ice mage had woken up with a chill he couldn't shake. Over the course of the morning it seemed to only be getting worse, much to the dismay of his girlfriend and rival. He felt a cool hand on his forehead, testing his temperature.

"Gray, I think you have a fever." Mirajane confessed, taking a seat on the arm of the couch.

"I'm fine. It's just freezing in here." He assured her, his whole body shivering.

"Gray, you feel hot to me. Normally you feel like ice." She frowned, obviously worried about her boyfriend.

"Gray," Natsu said, placing his own hand on the ice mage's forehead. Gray flinched, noting his hand wasn't as scalding as usual. "You feel hot to me. You need to go to the hospital."

"I'm not going to the hospital." He argued, folding his arms in front of his body under the blanket. "It's just a little cold."

"Well, at least let me make you some hot peppermint tea. I always made it for Lisanna and Elfman when they were sick. Even though it's hot, the menthol will make your temperature drop without making you feel colder." Mira pleaded softly, making the ice mage feel guilty.

"That might be nice." Gray gave in, casting his gaze from the white haired beauty to his rival. "Can you make that fire any bigger?"

"Do you want me to burn your house down?" He asked, making the flame in the fireplace grow.

"Let's not get carried away." The raven haired wizard coughed into the blue blanket. Could he really be coming down with something this early into fall?

"You even smell sick." Natsu said, sitting in the arm chair beside the couch.

"Well no ones forcing you to stick around flame brain." Gray pointed out, stretching out his leg before pulling it in close to his body.

"Someone's gotta make sure you're not an asshole to your girlfriend."

"I would never mistreat Mirajane." Gray snapped, sending the dragon slayer a venomous glare.

"You turn into an asshole when you aren't feeling well." Natsu shrugged, grabbing a magazine off of the stack. "You always have."

"Shut up. You're the asshole. I'm letting you stay in my house and you have the gall to insult me." Gray reasoned, wishing he had the strength to get up and pound him to a pulp.

"I wouldn't have to stay in your house if you hadn't gotten mine demolished by your crazy stalker." Natsu argued, an intense look of sadness playing across his face.

"We both know that wasn't my fault." Gray defended, his anger shrinking. Was Natsu really that upset about the house? It was just a crumby shack.

"Boys!" Mirajane shouted, reentering the room with a steaming mug of tea. "I swear if you two fight now, I will get involved. You're friends. Act like it."

"Fighting is kind of what we do Mira." Gray pointed out, taking the cup of tea from her.

"Not while you're sick it's not." She informed him, casting an exhausted look at Natsu.

"What?" The pink haired mage asked defensively. "He started it."

"Can you help me with something in the kitchen?" Mira asked, her face showing something gray couldn't quite read.

"Yeah, sure." He replied, tossing the magazine back onto the coffee table to follow behind her.

* * *

"I need you to run to the guild and get Makarov for me." Mira said in a hushed tone, low enough that there was no way Gray could hear.

"What?" Natsu asked curiously. "Why?"

"I don't know, exactly." She admitted, a look of frustration growing on her face. "He just told me that if Gray happened to get sick I needed to get him right away, only I don't trust you two to not fight right now."

"Hey. I already said I'm not going to fight Gray until he is back to his full strength, and I don't go back on my word." The dragon slayer said defensively, crossing his arms.

"That doesn't mean he won't try, stubborn as he is. He is always in a terrible mood when he gets sick."

"See?" Natsu said. "It's not just me. You think he's an asshole when he's sick too."

"I didn't say that." Mirajane sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. "Please focus."

"Right." The pink haired wizard nodded. "Go get Makarov."

"Just tell him Gray is sick. I'm sure he'll hurry over."

"Any idea why he's so worried about Gray getting sick?"

"Not really." Mira admitted, letting her mind jump to all the blood tests they had been giving her boyfriend lately. "Just hurry back okay?"

"Sure." Natsu replied, quickly heading out the back door.

"Where's he going?" Gray asked, as Mirajane reentered the room.

"He's going to get Happy." She lied smoothly, not wanting to worry him.

"Great. The last thing I need when I'm sick is that stupid cat flying around."

"I gave him a list of things to pick up." She said, brushing his raven hair away from his sweaty forehead. His eyes betrayed his tiredness. "So you can get some rest."

"Thanks Mira." He replied softly, catching her hand in his as it trailed down the side of his face. He pulled it to his lips and planted a fevered kiss on the back of her hand. It earned a small smile from the woman. "You look so worried."

"I am worried." She confessed, taking a seat on the coffee table next to the mug of peppermint tea.

"You don't need to worry about me, Mira." He said softly, giving her hand a tight squeeze. "I think I've proven, if nothing else, in the past few months that I am pretty resilient. Besides, it's just a cold."

"You're an ice mage Gray, you get colds, but you don't get fevers, not like this."

"First time for everything, right?" He asked, coughing and laughing simultaneously. "Really Mira, don't worry."

"I can't help it. I love you." She sighed, staring into his dark blue eyes.

"I-" The words caught in the ice mage's throat. "You love me?"

"Yeah." Mira admitted, turning away as she felt heat rush into her cheeks. While he was sick probably wasn't the best timing, but it just slipped out. The words felt natural, like something she'd been meant to say for all of her life.

"Mira, look at me." He urged, grabbing her hand and pulling it back to his lips. He planted another soft kiss there, making her turn to face him. "I love you too."

"Good." She decided, leaning in to kiss him on the lips.

"Don't." He said softly, pulling away. "I don't want to make you sick."

"I have a good immune system." She assured him, pressing her lips against his. He was even warmer than she realized, but she set that aside for the time being. She moaned softly into his mouth, the peppermint tea he'd been drinking only serving to accentuate his normally exquisite minty taste.

He broke off the kiss in a coughing fit, a look of pain crossing his face as he bent over.

"Are you okay?" Mira asked. Maybe she should have gone and gotten Makarov herself.

"Yeah." He assured her, wheezing slightly. "Sexy way to end a kiss, right?"

"You're hopeless." She sighed, watching the pain fade from his expression. "But just about anything you do is sexy."

"You're really funny Mira, you know that?" He laughed lightly, leaning back onto the arm of the couch.

"A riot, I'm sure." She sighed, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to go upstairs to your bed?"

"Are you asking me for sex?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at her in amusement.

"More like I'm telling you you need to sleep and I want to know if your own bed would be more comfortable." She informed him, running her hand down his arm.

"Spoilsport." He teased, catching her eyes.

"You wouldn't anyway." She pointed out, taking a sip of his peppermint tea.

"Don't drink that." He demanded, an urgent look crossing his face. "You're going to make yourself sick."

"Gray," She said softly, taking another sip. "I told you, I have an excellent immune system."

"Yeah, so do I." He groaned, eyes glued to the mug.

"Oh fine." She sighed, setting the tea down. "So, do you want to go to bed or not?"

"The fireplace is down here." He nodded at the cackling flame. "And this might be the first time I've actually ever used it. I may as well get some use out of it, right?"

"If you're sure." She replied, a tone of uncertainty leaking into her voice.

"Mira?" He asked, his eyelids growing heavy.

"Yeah Gray?" She responded, wondering if he needed something.

"Thanks for the tea."

"You're welcome love." She replied softly, taking the mug back into the kitchen.

* * *

Natsu took off towards the guild hall at as fast of a pace as he could manage as he remembered exactly where he had smelled Gray's sickness before. Never in his life had the dragon slayer been more annoyed at his proneness to motion sickness. He swore under his breath, hoping he would make it there fast enough.

"Lucy, you don't have to respond, but I know you're here so I need to vent." He said as quietly as he could manage as he flew up the sidewalk.

"I swear to Mavis." He groaned, trying to find the right words. "I think Gray is sick, badly sick. He smells like you did, before- Gah."

"Even with you here, it's hard to talk about you being gone, you know it? It's weird to talk to someone about their death." Natsu mumbled, earning a rather odd look from an old woman standing by a stand of orchard apples. He didn't have time to stop and try to explain himself now, not if he wanted to get there in time. Would it even matter how quick he got there, if it was the same illness? The healers had said there was no hope for Lucy.

"I think he may have the same sort of infection that took you from me. And if it's magic, a spell like you old me, I think he may be in trouble. We might loose him too Luce, and I'm not sure if the guild can survive that. Two members in such a short amount of time, Mavis..."

"I'll go to him." He heard a voice whisper softly in his ear. "Maybe I can help."

"Please Luce." The dragon slayer replied, slowing to a stop. "See what you can do."

"Hurry." She urged him. "Go get Makarov."

"Right." The pink haired wizard said, dashing towards the end of the street. He was only a couple blocks away from the guild hall, surely he would make it there in time. There was no other option, he had to.

The fire dragon slayer crashed through the front gates of the guild hall, earning annoyed looks from nearly all of it's members. That didn't matter now. He bolted up the stairs, straight for the guild master's office. Natsu fumbled the knob, unable to get a grip on it in his panic. He knocked the door open by force.

Makarov was sitting on top of his desk, examining a large disorganized pile of papers Natsu couldn't be bothered to look at. He shot the dragon slayer a confused look, dropping the paper he was holding. "What is it?"

"Gray." He panted, all the running finally catching up to him. "He's sick. Smells like Lucy."

"He what?" Makarov asked, a look of realization playing across his face.

"He smells like Lucy, before she died, the infection." He rushed, nearly merging his words together.

"We must get Porlyusica at once." He announced, hopping off the desk quickly.


	22. Better

**A/N: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

 **Can't believe this story is already to 22 chapters. It seems like only yesterday I was toying with the idea.**

 **Thanks so much to everyone who reads this. It's really amazing to me to think that people are actually reading, and enjoying my story. You're all wonderful.**

Wind rushed through her as she glided back to Gray's house. The celestial wizard felt as though she'd just been given some of the worst news of her life. The last thing she wanted was for anyone else to end up like her, especially as good of a friend as Gray. Her state of limbo, not alive, but not completely dead wasn't something she would wish on anyone. A orange leaf flew past her, reminding her just how long had passed since her death.

Her mind wandered to that night in the guild master's office. Makarov had seemed fairly certain of the ice mage's fate, suggesting it was likely Gray would turn into a monster. Then again, he seemed to have the same idea about her. Lucy held her breath in silent prayer that he was wrong. Neither of them could ever become a monster. Lucy found herself pure of heart, and when she thought of Gray she assumed the same.

She approached the raven haired wizard's home at record pace, not bothering with niceties such as using doors. She went straight for the living room, where she found him laying on the couch. The celestial mage bit her bottom lip as she looked him over. The dark circles under his eyes seemed to have deepened in the half hour she had been gone.

A worried look crossed Mirajane's face as she walked into the room. Lucy watched as she laid a damp rag over her boyfriend's forehead, earning a small moan from the ice mage. Just a few hours ago he had been joking around, arguing with Natsu. Things were turning south, and fast. The blonde wizard struggled to remember if her own illness had progressed so fast. She had been very weakened when it had struck her. Gray had at least had a few months to recover. Maybe that would make a difference.

"Gray, you're burning up." She heard the white haired beauty mumble.

A small lump rose in her throat as she remembered what she had told Natsu. She'd helped Gray before, when he fell. She might have even saved his life then. Now was different. This time he was on his way to becoming like her. If she tried to channel some of her life energy into him, would it make him stronger, or pull him closer to her existence? A nearly inaudible groan escaped her lips. Mira's head snapped around, so that her gaze bore straight through the celestial wizard.

Lucy lowered her face to Gray's, wondering if she could whisper to him without Mira hearing. Surely the roar of the fireplace would be enough to mask her quiet voice. He might not be able to hear her, but it was worth a shot anyway. Anything that could help was worth trying.

"Gray," She whispered softly, quickly glancing back to see if Mirajane had heard her. "It's Lucy."

He mumbled something indecipherable in response, a confused look crossing his face.

"Don't worry." She assured him, lowering her voice slightly. "You're not dead, not yet. But you will be if you don't hold on. I don't want to scare you. I just want to save you, from this fate." She swallowed, trying to get her words straight. "It's not something I'd wish on anyone. Which is why I need you to fight it. Hold onto this world. Focus on what you have here. Think of Mira. Think of the team, of Fairy Tail, of Lyon. Concentrate on whatever ties you to this world. It may be the most important thing you ever do Gray."

"Lucy." He mumbled softly, earning Mirajane's attention.

She rushed over to him and kneeled on the floor, close enough that she would have been touching Lucy. She twined her fingers with his and planted a soft kiss on his hand. "Stay with me Gray."

"Listen to her." Lucy said, so softly she could barely hear the whispers leaving her lips. "Hold onto her at all costs. Ground yourself here. You've got the same infection as me, but you can beat it. I know you can. You're strong and determined and have so much to live for. Hold on Gray, hold on."

* * *

"I think I'm hallucinating." Gray said, slurring his words in his fevered state.

"Natsu will be back with help soon." Mira assured him, turning over the cool rag on his forehead. It smelled like peppermint, probably soaked in the tea.

"I thought he went for groceries." He mumbled, squeezing Mira's hand as tight as he could manage. Even if it was a hallucination, the things Lucy had said made sense.

"He went for help." Mira confessed. "You're just so stubborn we didn't tell you."

"Mira?" He asked hesitantly.

"What is it?"

"I think I need it." He admitted, forcing his tired eyes open. The ice mage's entire body was racked with chills, something he couldn't remember experiencing since his early days training with Ur. Even she would probably be confused about a sickness like this. Ice wizards didn't get cold.

"He should be back at any moment." She assured him, placing her hand on the side of his face. The white haired wizard slowly pulled back the layers of blanket covering him. "I'm sorry. Your fever is too high for these."

"Please don't look at me like that." He whispered softly, folding his arms in front of himself at the blankets absence.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He offered her a small forced smile before letting his eyes close. Keeping them open was too much work. Everything was rather fuzzy anyway.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" She asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"No." He sighed, focusing on the feeling of her hand. "Everything hurts."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying you're sorry." Gray demanded, a nauseated feeling forming in his stomach. "You aren't the one who made me sick."

"I can't help it." She sighed, running her hand up to the back of his neck. It felt cool, something that never happened for the ice mage.

"Man, I am sick." He muttered. Ice barely felt cold to him on a normal basis. How sick did he have to be for his girlfriend's hand to feel so cool? The sound of the front door swinging open shook Gray from his thoughts.

"You with the white hair, " He heard a vaguely familiar voice call. "Go run the bathtub full of water, as cold as you can get it."

"Yes Ma'am." He heard Mirajane reply. He opened his eyes in time to see his girlfriend jump to her feet. Mira rarely took orders from anyone.

A pink haired figure walked towards him quickly. Natsu had made it back at last, but who was with him, barking orders? "Can you hear me Mr. Fullbuster?" The pink haired figure asked. Not Natsu, Porlyusica. His vision was blurrier than he'd realized.

"Yeah." He mumbled in response. He felt his wrist being grabbed, the old woman's fingers pressed against it.

"His pulse is weak. He's much farther progressed than I had feared." She said in a hushed tone to someone behind her. Judging by the short stature, it had to be Makarov.

"Can you stop it?" The guild master's voice came, more filled with worry than Gray had expected. Things had to be bad for Makarov to come along.

"We'll see." She relied softly. "You, boy. Can you carry him upstairs to the tub? We need to get him cooled down."

Natsu replied by quickly scooping Gray up bridal style. Any other time he would have complained, but instead he laid his head on his shoulder. If nothing else, at least Natsu was warm. The dragon slayer carried him down the hall and slowly slid him into the tub, not bothering with removing his clothes.

"Ah." Gray winced as he hit the cold water. A intense chill rolled through his body. The ice mage never once in his wildest dreams imagined he would be tortured by the cold. It was almost a cruel irony.

"Are you okay Gray?" Mira asked softly, shutting off the running water.

"No he's not okay." Porlyusica snapped, gently shoving Mira aside. The hermit began applying a thick green salve to the ice mage's forehead. The areas it touched seemed to ache less, a sensation the ice mage happily welcomed.

He focused his eyes long enough to make eye contact with his girlfriend. The worried look on her face pained him. No one as sweet as Mira needed to see something like this, and he'd but her through hell and back already.

"Natsu." Porlyusica ordered. "I need you to run and get a bag of ice."

"I'll be right back." He nodded, quickly exiting the cramped bathroom.

"Wait." Gray coughed, his body tensing in the cold water. "I think I can manage that one myself, at least for now."

"Don't strain yourself." Mirajane warned.

Focusing all his magic energy, the ice make wizard turned the bath water into something resembling a slush. His entire body instantly chilled deeper than he imagined possible. Natsu poked his head around the corner, watching Gray carefully.

"We'll still need that ice." Porlyusica said softly, seemingly impressed that Gray could preform any magic in his state.

"I'll hurry." Natsu nodded, taking off again.

"I'm going to go gather a few things I didn't have time to grab on my way. I'll be back soon, but I trust you can watch over him until I get back." The pink haired wizard said, looking at Mira.

"Of course." She nodded, sitting on the edge of the bath tub.

"You." She nodded at Gray. "Rest. Don't strain yourself. I know the water's cold, but bare with it."

"I'm an ice wizard." He decided, looking down at his ice covered body. "I can handle it."

Gray shook violently as he watched Porlyusica exit. Why couldn't they have just taken him to Magnolia hospital? As worried as everyone seemed, surely his illness warranted that. Maybe they were afraid to take him there, with that deadly infection going around. Mirajane leaned down and planted a small soft kiss on his forehead.

"Mira," He croaked, catching his girlfriend's eyes. "Am I dying?"

"Don't say things like that." She said harshly, pulling back to look him over. "Porlyusica is going to make sure you get better, and fast."

"Why aren't I in the hospital?" The raven haired wizard asked. If he was even close to as bad off as he felt, he was on the brink of something bad.

"Porlyusica knows how to heal this, they don't." She said softly, brushing his hair back out of his eyes.

"I'm sorry Mira." He whispered, reaching up to place his hand on her forearm.

"Why are you sorry?" She asked, her voice nearly cracking. Was she about to cry?

"There's not been a day since we got together that I've been well. At least before it looked like I was going to recover. Now..." He trailed off, trying not to cough at the tickle in the back of his throat.

"Don't talk like that Gray." She warned. "I want you no matter what your state of health is. That's not why I fell in love with you."

"Obviously." He coughed, spraying the bathtub with blood. A distressed laugh escaped his lips. "Well, fuck."

"Porlyusica will be back quickly." Mira assured him, although he assumed it was meant for herself as much as him. Coughing up blood was never a good sign, even if it was only a bit. Maybe he had the same infection as Lucy. He couldn't help but wonder if she had suffered this much in the end. Lucy didn't deserve that.

"Hold on Gray." He heard the whisper in his ear, the familiar voice. Of course he was hallucinating again.

"I'm holding on." He assured her, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of responding to a hallucination.

"Gray?" Mira's voice came, slicing through the fog for only a moment.

"I'm tired Mira." The ice mage admitted, letting his body relax into the ice.

"Don't do it Gray. You need to fight it. Stay grounded." The voice in his ear urged. Maybe it wasn't a hallucination. Maybe it was a voice from the other side. He really was dying. At least he would get to see Ur again, his family, Lucy too. Natsu would be jealous.

"I need to sleep." He said softly, letting his hand fall from Mira's arm.

"Rest love." She pressed her lips to his sweaty forehead and sighed. "You'll be better soon, I promise."

"Better..." He mumbled in response. Anything was better than this.


	23. Angel of Death

**A/N: I don't own Fairy Tail!**

He hovered in the air above the hospital style bed, free to move in any direction with no resistance. The ice mage no longer hurt, every ache had dissipated. Maybe death wasn't so bad after all. He stared down at his body with dulled senses. Mira was there, holding his hand tight as a small tear ran down her cheek. He wanted to touch her, to kiss the tear away and stop her pain, but it was no use. The heart monitor beeped at a slow but steady pace. Maybe it wasn't death after all.

There were so many tubes connected to the body it sent him into flashbacks of being in the hospital. He drifted down to watch his chest rise and fall, a tube shoved down his throat forcing him to breathe. Gray shook his head, feeling weird at watching himself. It had to be some sort of weird out of body experience, like a dream or astral projection. There was no world in which this could be real.

"Gray." A soft familiar voice whispered from behind him.

"Lucy?" He asked, whipping around. The celestial wizard stood before him, a sad smile on her face. She wore a flowy white dress, unlike anything Gray had ever seen her wear. She reached out to him and grabbed his hand. It felt solid, unlike everything else in the room.

"I'm here Gray. It's okay." She sighed, turning her eyes to the ice mage in the hospital bed. They'd some how brought him to Porlyusica's, he decided, taking in the room. He must have been unconscious then.

"Am I dead?" He asked, eyeing his friend. She looked as beautiful in death as she had in life. Surely she was an angel sent to take him away from this world.

"No." The blonde swallowed, giving his hand a tight squeeze. "Not quite."

"Am I dying?"

"I hope not." She confessed, walking over to the hospital bed. "But I think you may be."

"Are you a ghost?"

"I don't know." A small laugh escaped her lips, something resembling desperation flashing across her eyes. "I'm not alive, obviously. My body's in the ground, gone and buried. I'm still around though." She touched the hospital bed with pale fingertips, pushing into the mattress enough to make a small indentation. The small feat made her smile. "I'm alive enough that sometimes, just sometimes, I can get the world to acknowledge me."

"I'm so sorry Lucy." Gray choked, watching the pain in her eyes. "I should have saved you."

"It doesn't matter now Gray. I fear you're going to suffer the same fate as I." She sighed, taking a seat beside Mira. "Just hold on as long as you can, okay?"

"Hold on? What do you mean?"He paused, looking her over carefully. "We're you speaking to me, back at my house? I thought I was hallucinating."

"You weren't hallucinating." She assured him. "It was me. It was me when you hit your head getting out of bed too. I've been around, watching over everyone. Natsu knows it too. We've... We've been able to spend some time together."

"I'm sorry this happened to you." He said, exasperated.

"It's happening to you too." The celestial wizard replied calmly, making eye contact with the ice mage. "Is it weird seeing yourself like this?"

"Beyond weird." Gray admitted, glancing over to the body on the bed. It felt weird to acknowledge that it was him.

"They're keeping you alive, probably indefinitely. They're pumping you full of cold fluid to keep your temperature down, and all those machines are keeping up your body's functions. I'd say you've got a good chance as long as they find the wizard responsible in time."

"What about you, what are your chances?"

"I'm dead and buried Gray. I don't think there's any coming back from that." She said, a pained laugh escaping her lips.

"Do you know anything about him, the dark wizard?" The ice mage asked, placing his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. Oh how he wished he could comfort her, if even for a moment.

"Not really. I've been splitting my time between you and Natsu for the past few days." She swallowed again, watching Gray's hand. Was it as painful for her as it was for him? "Gildarts is out trying to find him. Apparently the wizard who attacked us was just some sort of pawn."

"What is the point in killing us off anyway?" Gray asked, his voice seeping with frustration.

"I don't know for much, but I've heard whispers. The wizard behind all of this is some sort of necromancer." Lucy admitted, her voice dropping. "I have a feeling things are going to get very very bad."

"A necromancer? That's seriously dark magic." Gray said, removing his hand from Mira's shoulder. If he was tainted with dark magic, he wouldn't get near her.

"I know. I just wish I knew more details, especially with both our lives-" She caught herself and found a better word. "Existences hanging in the balance."

"How long have I been here?" He asked, gesturing to the version of him laying on the bed.

"Almost four days." She informed him, watching as Mirajane brushed his hair out of his face. "You almost died twice, but they managed to bring you back. That was the first two days. You've been stable, relatively stable for two days."

"God, I've put her through hell and back." He groaned, looking down at her. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Mirajane. In the few weeks they'd been together, she'd grown to mean almost everything to him.

"Mira's tough." Lucy assured him. "She's been taking it really well, considering."

"Thanks Lucy." He sighed, debating on whether or not he should be near her.

"I'm going to go find Natsu and give him an update." The celestial wizard announced.

"Can you talk to him, and actually have him hear you?"

"It gets easier to make the world acknowledge you as time passes, or at least it has for me. We even had a week at one point..." She trailed off, deciding it was something he didn't need to hear.

"Thanks Lucy."

"I'll see you later Gray. Keep holding on, and stay close to your body." She laughed lightly. "Mavis, that sounds weird to say."

"It seems like sound advice though." Gray decided, climbing onto the bed next to himself. Maybe if something happened to his body, he would be able to prevent it in his new form. It was a significant maybe, but still worth a shot.

* * *

"Natsu." Lucy yelled breathlessly as she struggled to catch the dragon slayer's attention. He had been sulking around Gray's house since he fell ill, waiting for someone to tell him what to do to help. The celestial wizard had noticed a definite change in him, for the worse. Every one of his actions and words seemed defeated.

"Luce?" He asked softly, whipping around to lay eyes on his girlfriend. "You're here."

"I've been conserving my energy." She confessed, pulling him in for a hug. After Gray's appearance, she needed it badly.

"How is he?" Natsu asked, burying his face in the corner of Lucy's neck. He deeply inhaled her scent, wishing he could have seen her sooner.

"Well-" Lucy began, the words catching in her throat. "He's not dead."

"That's a relief." The dragon slayer mumbled, pulling back to stare into the blonde's eyes. She was incredibly easy for him to read. "What's wrong Lucy?"

"He's like me."

"What do you mean he's like you?" Natsu demanded, his pulse quickening in fear.

"Like-" She stumbled over her words, searching for one that actually explained the situation. "Out of his body? If I'm a ghost, he's a ghost, but he's still alive. His heart is still beating."

"You're not a ghost... You're just different now." Natsu decided, looking her over carefully. "Did you talk to him?"

She nodded slowly. "I explained the situation as best I could. He seemed pretty confused, and to be honest I am too."

"There's a lot to be confused about." Natsu sighed in response, taking her hands in his.

"I don't want to say this, but I need to. Natsu, I don't think he's going to make it." Lucy confessed, looking down and away. The words left a bad taste on her lips.

"Don't say that Lucy. He'll pull through. Gray is strong, and if his heart's still beating he's got one hell of a chance." The pink haired mage argued, his skin heating in response.

"His soul is no longer attached to his body." Lucy replied, finally giving words to their situation. She wasn't a ghost, she was something with more substance, a soul.

"He'll make it." Natsu assured her, a warning in his voice. She saw something behind his eyes resembling fire.

"I hope you're right." She sighed, laying her head on his shoulder. Feeling his body against hers again was soothing. Although she had her doubts, she wanted nothing more to someday be returned to him in full. All she wanted was to return to the land of the living.

He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I am, I promise." He chuckled lightly, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "And I promise to find a way for you to come back to us."

"Let's worry about Gray for now." She smiled up at him. His eyes were hopeful like a child's. It calmed her deep inside.

"Alright, let's go see old Popsicle pants then."

* * *

"Oh Gray, what am I going to do with you?" Mirajane asked softly, planting a soft kiss on the ice mage's lips. She'd left his side for only moments since he fell ill, long enough to eat and use the restroom. The she-devil was determined to stay by him until he got better, even at the cost of her personal hygiene.

She ran her hand up his arm, feeling the cool liquid being pumped into his veins. His body was burning up, in stark contrast to his normal temperature. Mira had teased him about being so cold before, but now she would do anything just to feel his icy touch. His heart had stopped twice, something that caused her pain beyond what she had once imagined. Even after losing her parents, and her sister for a time, the thought of losing Gray hurt her somewhere deeper than she cared to think about.

The white haired beauty rested her head on the ice mage's chest, listening to his slow heartbeat carefully. It was the most wonderful sound she'd ever heard, especially now. It was strong and steady, like the beat of a base drum. She ran her fingertips along his scars, tracing them gently. Mirajane had often wondered if they still hurt him, but refrained from asking. Any time that terrible day was brought up, he seemed to suffer, so the topic was eternally avoided. Why anyone would hurt Gray so badly was beyond her. Whoever had given him this illness deserved a fate worse than death. When they found the wizard responsible, Mira would be happy to oblige.

She wiped away a tear rolling down her cheek. When had she started crying? "Leave it to you to make me cry again." She laughed softly, pulling away to look at his face. His cheeks were swollen from the tube shoved down his throat that kept him breathing. Other than that he looked mostly peaceful, just a bit sweatier than usual. "You're going to owe me an apology."

"Hey, can I come in?" Natsu's voice came from the hallway.

"Of course." Mira responded, wondering if it was too obvious that she'd been crying. Despite her pain, she would try to remain strong for the rest of the guild, even if that meant hiding her own tears.

"How's he doing?"

"No change." The she-devil sighed, her eyes turning back to the ice mage. "I'm just keeping him company. How are you holding up?"

"Don't worry about me Mira. I'll be fine. Just worried's all." He assured her, taking a seat in a chair on the opposite side of the bed.

"He's been through a lot these past few months, hasn't he?"

The fire dragon slayer nodded carefully, allowing his eyes to drift over his rival's un-moving body. He looked nearly as bad as he had after the dark wizard's attack.

"Do you think he can hear us?" Mirajane asked, running her fingers up the ice mage's arm. He had two separate i.v. lines going into his arm.

"Probably. It wouldn't hurt to talk to him." Natsu suggested. "When he wakes up, he's going to be pissed that we were all so worried. Probably offended too, babying him like this."

"Probably only pissed at you, actually." She pointed out, cracking a small smile. "It's my job to worry about him. You fretting over him just pisses him off."

"Well, he's just going to have to be pissed, because I can't help it. He's my best friend."

"I know he is, and he knows it too. Gray just likes to be overly stubborn." Mira acknowledged, gently lacing the ice mage's fingers in hers.

"Tell me about it." The dragon slayer scoffed, staring directly at the raven haired wizard. "Is there anything I can get for you Mira, a bite to eat or something?"

"That would be wonderful, actually." The she-devil responded, her stomach growling at the thought.

"Alright." Natsu said, jumping to his feet. He leaned down to whisper in the ice mage's ear. "I know you can hear me, hang in there Gray." He righted himself and looked to the white haired wizard. "I'll be right back. Take care of him."

"You know I will." She replied, offering him a small smile.


	24. Plans and Promises

**A/N: I don't own Fairy Tail!**

 **I have reached a point in seriousness in this fan fic where I actually wrote a chapter outline. This is a first for me. I've had a loose outline for this fic (As with all the other plot-heavy fics) since day one, but until now chapter outlines have been reserved for my actual novels. Shit's about to go down, my lovely readers.**

 **Anyway, don't sit to close to the monitor, and don't forget to turn the lights on while you're reading.**

* * *

The guild master's desk was much less cluttered than the last time Natsu saw it. Everything was in it's proper place, with only a tidy stack of papers sitting in the center, bound by a paper clip. He took a seat against the wall next to Mira, his exceed landing on his head. Erza stood off to the side, her arms folded across the armor on her chest. She had a serious look on her face, not uncommon for The Titania.

Makarov nodded at the cloaked man standing by the wall. Gildarts slowly shut the door, careful not to let it slam too loudly.

"We have something serious to talk to you two about." The master stated, eyeing the pair. "I think it would be best if Happy waited outside for this."

"But why so I always get excluded?" He pouted, standing up on the dragon slayer's head.

"I'll catch up with you later, okay Happy?"

"Aye sir." He sighed, slipping out the door.

"Alright. Do either of you have any idea why you're here?" The ginger wizard asked gruffly, turning the lock on the door.

"Maybe something to do with Gray?" Mirajane guessed, her eyes making contact with his. The fair haired wizard was picking at her fingernails, nearly making them bleed.

"Something like it." Makarov verified, sighing in discontent. "We're about to give you some information that may be a lot to take in." He glanced to the requip mage. "Erza, you should probably sit down too."

"Of course Master." She said solemnly, taking the last seat in the row.

"The infection that Gray has is the same one that took Lucy." Gildarts began, leaning back on the desk.

"We already knew that." The fire dragon slayer interjected, already annoyed.

"Natsu, shut up." Erza ordered, staring at him sternly. "Let him speak."

"You probably all know bits and pieces of this, but it's going to make more sense if I put it all together at once. Gray's infection is the same as Lucy's and they caught it at the same time." He paused, frowning as he struggled to find the words. "Or rather, they were infected at the same time, intentionally."

"I knew it." Natsu declared angrily, small flames licking at the edges of his skin.

"The dark wizard responsible for all of this has the ability to resurrect people, wizards specifically, through this infection. However, when they return, they're completely under his control."

"But I killed that guy." Natsu argued, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Natsu." Mira said in warning, although a small smile still crept across her face. She had to be the only one who knew anything close to what he was going through.

"The wizard you killed, though evil, was not the mastermind. He was nothing more than a mere pawn. Hell, he didn't even set the traps that Lucy and Gray got caught in. His only purpose was to infect them at the direction of a much more sinister man, if you've even call him that." Gildarts said, gripping the edge of the desk with his prosthetic hand so hard it nearly cracked.

"The actual wizard responsible is incredibly stronger. I've gotten word about him from the magic council. He is physically strong, and even stronger magically. His normal magic is a form of mind control. As if that wasn't bad enough, he's delved into the forbidden science that is necromancy. The infection that both Gray and Lucy is just that. Their deaths are the first part of a two part spell, and they're not the only ones. If-"

"But master," Mira said, her voice shaking. "Gray isn't dead."

"That's only by a miracle of magic science. I have a lot of faith in Porlyusica, more than in almost any one else. Still, there's a strong possibility that unless we stop this dark wizard, he will not be waking back up." The guild master confessed, a pained look crossing his face as he watched a tear form in the corner of Mira's eye.

Natsu swallowed the lump that had made it's way into his throat. He knew that Gray was no longer attached to his body, the same as Lucy in a way. Would it make any difference to them if they knew? No, it would likely only serve to break the she-devil's heart. As mean as she was to them as kids, it was hard not to have a soft spot for her.

"If he succeeds in the second part of the spell, he will have a small army of powerful wizards at his beck and call. It has been centuries since such dark magic has been practiced, but what I can tell from the records I've found isn't promising. They will exist purely to do his bidding, with no way for them to be stopped. They've already died once, making a second death much harder to inflict."

Natsu flinched at his words. Lucy wasn't some monster existing to do a dark wizard's bidding. She was still loving, caring Lucy, the only person in the world he wanted.

"But we're going to prevent that from happening." Gildarts said, sliding off the desk onto his feet. "I have acquired knowledge of his whereabouts as well as his name."

"What is it?" Mirajane asked, making eye contact with the ginger wizard.

"Daevion." He said, his tone dropping. "But do not speak it. Where I am going, the name strikes terror."

"Where you're going?" Natsu asked, cocking an eyebrow at the S-Class mage. "You better believe I'm going with you."

"I expected nothing less from you Salamander." Gildarts replied, a certain proudness to his voice. "Erza, if you're willing, that's why I've asked you here."

"It would be my honor." She said, nodding her head. "I will avenge my team member's death."

"I'm going too." Mira declared, determined.

"I honestly expected you to stay will Gray." Gildarts admitted, eyeing the she-devil carefully.

"There are more important things than watching someone who doesn't even know I'm there. I'm an S-Class wizard too, and if there's a chance I can save him, I'll be damned if I don't take it." She announced, pushing herself to her feet. "I may not be much of a fighter anymore, but I will always fight for the ones I love. I will always fight for Gray."

"Happy's coming too!" Natsu declared, jumping to his feet behind her.

"Aye Sir!" A muffled voice came from behind the door.

"Did you know he was there?" Makarov asked, glaring at the dragon slayer wearily.

"Of course I did." He said proudly. "I'm a dragon slayer. I could smell him."

"It couldn't hurt." Erza shrugged, agreeing with the pink haired mage for possibly the first time ever.

"Alright." Gildarts nodded to the trio. "We meet here at sun up tomorrow. Be sure to bring camping supplies. Most of our journey will be on foot, and it'll be a long way."

* * *

"I'm going with you." Lucy informed him, stretching out on the floor beside him. "I may not be strong, but I should be able to sneak around and get information for you."

"But if Gildarts finds out-"

"He's not going to find out Natsu." She replied, a tone of warning in her quiet voice. "I will be sure to only let you hear me. Trust me, I've gotten good at it. This is going to be dangerous and there's no way in Earthland I'm not going with you."

"But it's going to be dangerous." The dragon slayer pleaded, running his fingers up her arm.

"I'm already dead, how much danger could I really be in?" She smirked.

"This is the guy who made you that way Luce. I don't like it."

"It doesn't matter if you like it Natsu, I'm going. It's not like you could actually stop me anyway."

"I could try." He argued, his features softening as his girlfriend pouted.

"And fail." She whispered, leaning in closer to him.

"Just be careful, please?"

"I will be Natsu, I promise. I have to make sure that nothing bad happens to Gray worse than what already has. I can't help but feel responsible." She admitted, casting her eyes away from him. "After our fight, if I hadn't gone off with him-"

The dragon slayer placed a finger to her lips, effectively silencing her. "Don't talk about that Luce. This may be the last semi-normal piece of time we have together. Let's change the subject to something happier."

She sighed, grabbing his hand away from her mouth and holding it tight. "I love you Natsu."

"I love you too-"

"Natsu!" Happy called from the kitchen, instantly causing the blonde to fade away for fear of being caught. "Who are you talking to?"

She heard the fainest of whispers under his breath. "Lucy."

* * *

"Well Gray," Mirajane mumbled. She pressed the back of the ice mage's hand against her lips in a soft kiss. The sound of his respirator the only thing filling the room. Her voice sounded off to her, like she was holding back tears. Surely she had it together better than that. "I'm going on a mission. An actual go fight the bad guys mission."

She laughed slightly, remembering the time he'd asked her why she hadn't been on a mission in so long. If only she'd known then that he would be the reason she took a mission. A small tear ran down the side of her cheek. "This may be the last time I am with you for a while."

The she devil looked over her boyfriend's broken body. The place where the needles entered his body bruised him, leaving the only un-scarred part of his body marred. His face wasn't safe either, the tape from the ventilator breaking him out in a scattering of red bumps. She gently rubbed his shoulder, hoping it gave him some sort of comfort.

"I am going to find the wizard who did this too you." She promised, hatred towards the wizard rising within her. "And I am going to kill him. There will be no capture, no jail. He is mine and mine alone to destroy. No matter how powerful he is, I promise you Gray, I will make sure he breathes no longer."

She glanced down, sure she had felt his hand twitch. Probably some sort of involuntary movement. Mirajane pressed her lips to his forehead softly, leaving a lingering kiss there. "I love you Gray Fullbuster."

 _"I love you too."_ She heard just the faintest whisper in her ear, stirring something inside her soul.

* * *

"Lucy." The voice purred softly behind her. She would recognize it anywhere, even in death.

"Loke." She smiled, turning to face him. "Why do you always seem to appear behind me?"

"I can honestly say I have no idea." He admitted, taking a step towards the celestial wizard. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course I did." She pouted, looking him over. He was wearing a black suit with a red tie, one she'd seen him in many times before. "Even being able to make contact with Natsu, I'm alone most of the time. The after life is a really lonely place."

"How is Gray doing?" He asked.

"Still holding on. I honestly don't think he's doing well. We've got a plan to help him, but we have no idea if it will even work. Still, we've gotta try."

"I heard. It seems like there's a lot going on right now." He noted, catching her eye. "I may have overheard some bits and pieces of your conversation with Natsu."

"You creep." She glared at him. Of course he would spy on them, probably hoping to catch a bit of action. What a perv.

"I wouldn't call me that if I were you, not after all I've done for you." He teased, his voice brimming on the edge of excitement. His eyes gleamed behind his glasses.

"What have you done for me?" She cocked an eyebrow at him. It wasn't hard to tell when the king of the zodiac had something on his mind. It seemed to leak out of him every time he opened his mouth.

"I may," he paused to look her over cautiously. "Have found something in my research to help you."

"What is it?" She asked, truly intrigued. Loke wasn't one to get her excited about nothing.

"I don't want to get your hopes up."

"What is it?" She demanded impatiently.

"There's no guarantee it will even work."

"Loke." She warned.

"The results could be less than-"

"Damn it Loke, spit it out!" The celestial wizard demanded, her temper flaring. Being kept on edge was the last thing she needed from him at the moment.

"I think I found a way to bring you back." He replied proudly, a purr leaking through in his voice.


	25. Loke's Revelation

**A/N: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

 **I'm very sorry. It's been a while since I've updated any of my fics. I've had a major case of writer's block.**

 **Please don't boil me in a vat of turnips.**

 **If you need a time placement for this fic in your head, it takes place some time after the Grand Magic Games, but before Tartaros. (Because although I am caught up on the anime, and nearly caught up on the manga, that's where I was at when I started this fic.)**

 **Anywho, please enjoy my lovelies!**

* * *

"I think I found a way to bring you back." He replied proudly, a purr leaking through in his voice.

"A way-" Lucy swallowed hard, not allowing herself to get excited in case she heard him wrong. "A way to bring me back?"

Loke nodded, taking a step towards her. He lowered his tinted glasses to look into her brown eyes, savoring her reaction. "It's risky though. It could work, but it could also just make you fade away completely."

"Tell me how." Lucy demanded, earning a smirk from the lion for her efforts. "How can you bring me back? Did you find it in your research?"

"Actually, I couldn't find a damn thing in my research." He admitted, pushing his glasses back up to their rightful spot. "It's just an idea that came to me, but I really think it could work."

"Come on Loke."

"Lucy, normally I love hearing you talk, but right now you're just interrupting me to tell me to talk."

She scowled in response, but kept her lips quiet.

"So, I think where you're at, where we're both at right now, is almost like another world. Somewhere between life and the after life. For the sake of it having a name, we'll call it limbo. I have been able to come to you here since the first time you summoned me. Based on my theory, that would mean I am able to travel between worlds including this one." Loke explained, leaning against the wall. "You were able to travel with me to the Celestial Spirit world before, wearing the special clothes I brought."

"You can bring me through the Celestial Spirit world to Earthland." Lucy finished, er eyes growing wide at the possibility. The plan seemed flawless.

"Well, maybe." Loke sighed, folding his arms in front of himself. "There's always a chance that it won't work. Even if we manage to get you into the Celestial Spirit world, you may not be able to continue on into Earthland. I mean no offense, but your body isn't quite normal, not for a human."

Lucy looked down over her translucent body. She was able to fully materialize herself at points, but she didn't know if she would be able to do it for long enough to survive on Earthland. Her eyes fell on the celestial spirit in front of her. Loke's body was much like her own in this world, if only a hair more solid. "But you're not quite normal here either."

"You're right, but you already have a body on Earthland." He said, sadness showing through his eyes. Lucy hadn't often witnessed the king of the zodiac appear so disheartened. "There's the chance that you will go back into that body and you'll be dead for good. Or that you'll just cease to exist because you already exist there. I really have no idea what will happen Lucy. As much as I want you back, as much as everyone wants you back, I'm almost afraid to try."

"But you will try, right?" Lucy asked, her voice nearly cracking. Every bit of her existence craved to be back, back with her guild, her friends, her Natsu. As much as she loved whatever time she got with him, she knew they could never really be together with her being the way she was. She would only hold him back from life. If she couldn't really be with him, maybe a permanent death would be better for him than this, especially if she really was destined to come back at the hands of a necromancer.

"Lucy, you're my master and I will obey any command you give me." He tilted his head downward, his hair falling over his eyes. "I would not have brought you this information if I was unwilling. I just want you to fully understand what is at stake here before you decide."

"I want to try it." Lucy replied immediately. Either way, it would put Natsu better off for her to try.

"Before you make your decision, will you do one thing for me?" Loke requested, looking up to catch her eyes. "Please think on this a while. If not for yourself, for me. I'm not ready to lose my master again. And I'm sure Natsu's not quite ready to let go of you."

"I can do that." She decided. If their plan failed and she hadn't told the dragon slayer what she was planning, she would never forgive herself. She had to have time to tell him that much at least. With the mission he was about to undertake, he might even need her skills as a half living person.

"Thank you Lucy." Loke said, offering the blonde a smile.

"No Loke, thank you. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you're helping me like this."

"Anything for my master." He declared. "Call me when you've decided."

"Thanks Loke." She replied, a translucent tear streaming down her cheek as she watched him fade away.

* * *

A heavy fog set on Magnolia over night. Natsu approached the front of the guild hall, Happy snoozing peacefully on his rolled up sleeping bag. The dragon slayer coughed into his elbow, the thickness of the air filling his lungs. The blue exceed mumbled in annoyance, burying his head in the green fabric. A armored figure stood in front of the gate, an over sized back pack strapped to it's back.

"Natsu, you're early." Erza's voice came through the fog. Natsu looked her over carefully, surprised she hadn't brought along her usual assortment of luggage.

"It happens sometimes." He decided, finally able to see her face. "Where's all of your luggage? Sure you can make it packing so lightly?"

"Regretfully, this is all I will be able to take as we are traveling on foot. Hopefully the essentials I packed will suffice." She bowed her head regretfully.

"Just the essentials, huh?" Natsu asked, masking a smirk so The Titania wouldn't see. If that floor length backpack contained only the essentials, he could see why she always brought so much luggage. "Where's Gildarts and Mira?"

"Gildarts is actually going to be meeting up with us later. He was here earlier but got called away by the guild master. I don't know what it was about but I have a feeling it was relevant to our ultimate mission. He gave me a map and all the information we would need to start." She said, pulling a folded piece of tan paper from the breast of her armor. "I haven't heard from Mira. I'm sure she'll be here soon."

"Mira's usually early." Natsu pointed out, thinking of all the times she'd shown up to take Gray to an appointment an hour or more early. Then again, that could have been because she was sweet for him, even then.

"She's still got time. I guess it doesn't matter what time she gets here as long as we leave soon." Erza decided, looking over the map. It seemed to be growing damp in the fog.

"Have you two gone on a mission together before?" Natsu asked, eyeing her carefully. As children the two had been rivals, but as near adults they seemed to have a mutual respect for one another. Still, Natsu wondered how well they would fight together. Gray and he fought excellently together as rivals, but that came from lots of practice. Natsu wasn't sure if Erza and Mirajane had even been near each other in battle since they were twelve.

"Not for a long time." The crimson haired mage replied, slowly folding the map. She carefully tucked it back into her pocket. "I don't think Mira's been on a mission with anyone for a while."

"She hasn't." Natsu nodded in agreement. "Not since Lisanna. I kind of expected her to get back at it when she came back, but she hasn't."

"Losing someone really changes a person." She frowned, making eye contact with the dragon slayer. "But even you know that better than anyone Natsu."

"Even when they come back..." He stopped before going any further. Surely Lucy was with him, even now.

"She still mourned the loss for two years. That's long enough to change a person permanently." She reasoned, folding her arms in front of her. Natsu couldn't help but wonder how folding her arms like that in armor could possibly be comfortable.

"Mira's coming." The dragon slayer announced, nodding toward the end of the road.

"You can see that far away?" Erza asked skeptically.

"Of course not, but I can smell her." Natsu shrugged.

"Where's Gildarts?" Mira's sweet voice rang through the fog. Natsu caught her eyes as she approached. They were red and bloodshot as though she'd been crying. The poor girl had probably already been to see Gray.

"He's going to catch up with us later. Makarov gave him an extra job to do or something." Natsu said, swallowing to keep from coughing.

"So I guess it's just us three then." Mira said, the cheerfulness in her voice obviously forced.

"I'm glad you decided to go Mira." Erza announced, pushing off the wall of the guild hall so that she was standing upright.

Natsu threw his head to the side and coughed loudly, unable to hold it back any longer. He steadied himself against the wall, trying not to bend over and throw Happy off.

"You alright Natsu?" Erza asked, concern playing across her face as she watched him.

"Yeah," He cleared his throat, feeling much better. "When there's this much water in the air it bothers my lungs. Prolly something to do with being a fire dragon slayer."

"Alright." Erza nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. The last thing we need is another of our mages getting sick."

"I don't get sick. I'm way too tough for that." Natsu said, earning an elbow in the ribs from Lucy. He turned to look at her, but there was nothing there. He sighed silently, hoping he hadn't just imagined it.

"We're going to be traveling through the mountains." Erza announced, ignoring the dragon slayer's comment. "It looks like you're both wearing good shoes. That's good. Based on what was on the map it looks like the terrain may get a little bit nasty."

"Where exactly are we going Erza?" Mira asked, her voice seeming much less forced.

"At risk of being over heard in this fog, I won't say for now. As soon as we set up camp for the night I'll explain everything." She decided, her hand drifting over the place she had hidden the map.

"Camp for the night?" Natsu asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's not like the sun isn't even up yet."

"This mission is to be a long and difficult one. I thought you were up for the challenge Natsu." Erza said, just a hint of sarcasm leaking into her own voice.

"Of course I am." Natsu replied defensively. "Hell, I'd walk through a pit of live poisonous snakes to avenge Lucy, and I hate snakes. This isn't a challenge, this is a necessity."

"Let's not get too deep in talks of avenging just yet." Erza sighed, catching her old friend's eye. "It will be days, maybe even a week before we reach our destination and there's no promise the lead Gildart's received is even correct."

"It will be." Mira piped up, a bit of her old personality showing through. She picked up her pace, walking beside the two to form a row. "For Natsu and I, it has to be. For what he did to Lucy and to Gray, he will be made to pay. If the lead is wrong we'll keep searching. There is no other option, especially if there's a chance this will save Gray."

Erza cast her eyes from Mira back to Natsu. "Do you feel the same way Natsu?"

He nodded, his eyes gleaming darkly. "He took Lucy from us. He showed me pain I had almost forgot, and made it even worse. He deserves nothing better than death. He deserves something worse."

Mira nodded in agreement, locking eyes with the dragon slayer. If nothing else they were equals based on the pure rage they felt toward Daevion. Erza had lost a friend and guild mate, but she had not lost, or nearly lost a love to him.

"When's the last time you heard of a necromancer?" Mirajane asked, changing the subject to something even less light hearted.

"They're around." Erza said, her voice dropping so that only her companions could hear. "But this is a different type of it. Normally a necromancer just reanimates a corpse. This man, if you'd even call him that, purposely kills people knowing that only he will be able to control them. Once the spell is fully activated, only he can call them back. The only way to stop them is to completely destroy the bodies, and from what Gildarts explained, the bodies aren't normal. They're something else, nearly impossible to destroy."

"Lucy." Natsu gasped, quickly biting his tongue to keep from saying any more.

"Don't worry Natsu." Erza said solemnly. "We won't let it get that far, I promise you."

"Yeah." Natsu replied, knowing that Lucy had heard the things Erza said. "We won't."


	26. No More

**A/N: I don't own Fairy Tail!**

 **Sorry for the long time between updates. I've been very busy lately and you have my sincerest apologies.**

 **WARNING: LEMON AHEAD!**

* * *

Humidity hung in the air over the group's camp. They were close to their destination now, closer than Natsu was ready to admit. In less than a day he would know the fate of two people who meant a great deal to him. They wouldn't fail in their mission, they couldn't. Lucy's fate depended on it, and he wasn't about to let her down.

As the group sat around the fire, tension hung in the air. Every one of them was nervous, whether they cared to admit or not. Even happy was quieter than usual, not saying a word about Natsu overcooking his fish. The dragon slayer looked passed the fire at Mirajane. Her eyes were red and tired, a sure sign that she'd been crying on her solo walk. It had to be nearly as hard on her as it was on him.

"So what is the plan?" Erza asked, breaking the silence as she looked at Gildarts with serious eyes. He had managed to catch up with them when they had just made it out of Magnolia.

"First thing in the morning, we strike."

"That's it? No plan?" The crimson haired mage asked, cocking an eyebrow at the older man.

"I think we should approach as quietly as possible. From what I understand there will be many guards surrounding the castle. Still, with the three of us combined, we should be able to take them fairly effectively. After all, we are S-class mages."

"Hey, you've got me too you know." Natsu grumbled, folding his arms in front of his chest. He kicked his legs up, propping his feet on a log. "I may not be S-class, but I'm not totally useless."

"I'm counting on that Natsu." Gildarts confided, staring at the dragon slayer. "I want us to do this in pairs. Natsu, you will be with me. Erza and Mirajane, I think you two will fight well together."

"Sounds like a plan to me." The white haired mage nodded, leaning against the base of a large tree. "It's been a few years, but as much as we've fought with each other, I'm sure we will make a good team. After all, we know each others moves."

"That's right." Erza agreed.

"You didn't include me!" Happy pouted, folding his arms up to match Natsu's.

"You'll be with me, that's a given buddy." Natsu replied, offering him a quick smile.

"As soon as we get through the guards, we need to head straight for the heart of the castle. I say it's a castle, but it's actually more like a large house that's built like a castle. It's not quite what you'd expect." He pulled out some papers and handed each member of the group a pair.

"Is this a map?" Natsu asked, shifting the paper around trying to figure out which way to best read it.

"Basically. It's a floor plan. This is what Makarov had for me. He managed to get a hold of the group who built it and got it from them. It's relatively new, as far as structures like this go. It's only been completed for about six years."

"Six years, eh?" Natsu mumbled, staring at the floor plan intently. If nothing else, he could prepare himself by memorizing it.

"Is this room colored in here the room you expect him to be in?" Erza asked, holding up her own paper.

"It's the heart of the castle. From what I understand he never leaves it. It's set up like a control room. The place really is set up like a fortress, but if you notice, he made one mistake in the planning." The ginger wizard said, scanning over the group before him.

"What's that?" Mira asked, wondering what the mistake could be. These drawings were much better than anything she had ever done.

"You see the hallway marked around the room, and the bold black lines that connect it to the room? Those are doors into the control room, one for each of us."

"That's also four different doors he can escape through." Natsu noted, furrowing his eyebrows at the paper.

"Not if we corner him." Erza declared, clenching her fist. "I assume you mean for us to split up as soon as we reach the hallway and each take a room.

"You've got it. We'll approach as a group, then Natsu and I will go to the left as soon as we are inside, you and Mira take the right. This should be simple enough as long as we get our timing right."

"That means don't go barging in on your own Natsu. This has to be done as a team or it won't work." The Titania warned, glaring at the pink haired mage.

"What the hell?" He asked, returning her glare. "Why am I in trouble, I haven't even done anything yet!"

"Yet." Mira noted, folding her paper into a nice neat square and tucking it into the top of her dress.

"Alright, that's enough for tonight." Gildarts announced, releasing a large sigh. "We've got a big day tomorrow and we'll need our strength."

"Aye Sir." Happy agreed, nestling into the sleeping bag beside Natsu.

"Alright. I'm going to go for a quick walk. I'll be back soon." Natsu decided, standing up.

"Don't stray too far." Gildarts warned, casting him a suspicious glance.

"I won't. Don't bother staying up." He mumbled, wandering off into the trees before any one could protest. A familiar scent filled the air as he felt her hand around his wrist, tugging him backwards.

"I've missed you." He mumbled breathlessly as she pressed her body against his.

"I've missed you too." She smiled softly, slowly grinding her hips against his. "In more ways than one."

"We shouldn't do this Lucy." Natsu mumbled into the familiar blonde hair. The celestial mage's shaking finger tips slid up his back under his shirt. She tilted her head up and placed a small, soft kiss on his lips, nearly breaking his resolve.

"This might be the last chance we get, and I don't want to waste it." She pouted, pulling him closer.

"Don't talk like that." He sighed, running his hands through her blonde hair. It sent pain through his heart whenever she spoke of it. "I promise we'll stop him."

"It's not that." Lucy confessed, biting her lower lip. "I'm dead Natsu. What if when you kill him, I disappear?"

The dragon slayer frowned, staring at the blonde in the moon light. "That's not going to happen Luce. I promise you that won't happen."

"It doesn't matter." She shook her head as a small tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. Natsu wiped it away gently with the pad of his thumb. "When this is all over, I'm either coming back to you fully or leaving you forever."

"Lucy, what are you talking about?" He demanded, his heart pounding hard in his chest. He couldn't lose her, not after they had come so far.

"I think I found a way to come back. Well, not me exactly. Either way, it's going to work or it's not. And if it doesn't work I may not be here any more."

"I don't want to lose you. I can't even stand to think about it."

"You're going to have to. Natsu this, almost life, it's not something that's good for any one. If this is the only way we can be together, you're better off without me."

"Don't-" Natsu growled, his temper flaring. "Don't ever say you're better off without me. I died a million times over without you. I don't care if you feel like you're not enough. You will always be my everything."

"Natsu, I am dead. I may be here, but what is this life? I'm only here by the means of dark magic. Do you have any idea what that feels like? I don't want to be a monster, and in this form that's all I am. Can't you understand I hate this half-life?"

"Lucy," He said softly, his anger breaking. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry and just give me what I want, okay?"

"Right here?" Natsu asked, looking at their surroundings. A forest was far from the perfect place for something of that nature.

"I know it's not perfect, but I need it." She released the breath she was holding, watching it fill the cool night air. "It's not that I'm horny or anything either. I just need to feel that closeness to you one more time before I go."

"We can do whatever you want..." He decided, gasping as he felt her hand slide into his pants. "Just no more mention of you leaving, or dying, or whatever you want to call it, not while we're doing this."

"Of course." She offered him a sad smile, gently rubbing his length. The celestial wizard slowly worked the waistband of his pants down. He picked her up and held her tight as she wrapped her legs around his body.

"You know, it's funny." He mumbled as he laid down against the cool leaves.

"What's funny?" Lucy asked, her voice muffled by his neck as she planted kisses against him.

"The past few weeks, since the house got demolished," He gasped as her smooth finger tips ran over his chest. She always knew just what to do to him. "Instead of talking to each other and enjoying each other's company, all we've done is worry about how long it will last."

"I'm sorry." She said, blush creeping across her face as she worked up the edge of her dress. "It's just been on my mind a lot."

"I know, and it's okay." He replied, grabbing the edges of her white lace panties. He quickly singed their edges in his hands, careful not to burn Lucy. They fell away effortlessly. "But no more."

"No more." She nodded in agreement, hovering above his erection. She bit her bottom lip nervously, as if she had any reason to be nervous with him. "And by the way, that was hot."

"Glad you liked it." He chuckled, grabbing her hips. The look on her face was more than enough to drive him crazy. "Now make love to me Lucy."

The dragon slayer threw his head back as she slowly slid down his length. The way her body took him in would never cease to amaze him. A small groan escaped his lips as he slipped all the way in.

"Natsu." She moaned softly. He ran his warm hands up her body, gently squeezing her breasts as she rocked her hips back and forth atop him.

"You look crazy sexy like this Luce." He confessed, staring into her deep brown eyes as he struggled not to buck up into her. "You're absolutely stunning."

"N-Natsu." Her blush deepened as her hands wrapped around his arms, her finger nails digging into his tanned skin.

"Hold on Lucy." He warned, grabbing a hold of her waist. The pink haired mage slowly shifted them so that he was sitting up with Lucy on his lap. He offered her a small smile before pressing his lips against hers in a warm kiss. "Much better. Is this okay?"

She nodded slowly, finding her rhythm again. The dragon slayer quickly attacked her neck, leaving a large purple love bite at it's base. He heard a whimper escape her lips as her finger nails dug into his back, pushing him to the edge. "Fuck Lucy." He groaned against her skin, kissing her neck again.

The blonde mage responded by moving faster, her nails dragging down his back. There was no doubt he would have marks across his back in the morning, a nice reminder. "I'm not going to last much longer." He warned, whispering into her ear.

"Almost there." She panted, her nails digging in deeper. A loud cry escaped the celestial mage's lips as she felt Natsu bite into her neck. The pain only served to intensify the pleasure, pushing her to the brink. White and pink stars crossed her vision as she felt herself come undone.

Feeling her walls tighten around him, Natsu thrust up into her without abandon, no longer willing to hold back. A low growl broke from his lips as he felt the familiar heat in his stomach release. He wrapped his arms around her back as he finished, shooting his seed deep inside of her with only one thought in his mind. "I love you."

"Natsu," She mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder. "I love you too."


	27. Unexpected Obstacles

**A/N: I don't own Fairy Tail!**

* * *

As they ran towards the castle, Natsu thought not of the danger that awaited them, his only thoughts were of her. When they defeated the bastard,he would save her from her fate. They could be together. No. They would be together. No other outcome would be acceptable. He shook the thought from his head and focused on the scene before him.

Guards cloaked in heavy armor rushed out to meet them. They hadn't managed to catch them unaware, but that didn't matter. A small laugh escaped Natsu's throat, earning a confused look from the older mage beside him. Even in heavy armor, men with swords were no match for their team. With all the rage in his heart, Natsu knew he could take them out on his own if he needed to.

"Satan soul!" Mirajane cried out behind him, activating her magic early on. With what she had to lose, of course she would show no restraint.

Natsu watched for a reaction of the soldiers. Mirajane's transformation was a sight that would surely strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. The guards charged forward, paying the she-devil no mind. Perhaps they hadn't heard of her and viewed her transformation as a silly scare tactic. She lunged in front of them, sending a black ball of power floating towards their enemies. It hit the wall of the castle and exploded, sending casualties flying into the ground.

As the smell of blood filled the air, the dragon slayer ducked instinctively as swords flew past him through the air. The swords hit three of the guards, but it didn't seem to phase the others. A pointed sword flew past the edge of one of their heads, grazing the side of it, without eliciting so much as a flinch from him. Natsu heard Erza gasp behind him. Perhaps the Titania had noticed as well, these guards weren't quite normal.

The pink haired mage drew in a deep breath. If they were unaffected by the attacks on their comrades, each one of them would have to suffer an attack themselves.

"Fire dragon roar!" He yelled, releasing a blast of fire upon the enemy. The dragon slayer swept the flame to the left, reducing their numbers by half.

Gildarts charged forward, leaping over their felled opponents to the left effortlessly. He motioned with one hand for Natsu to follow, leaving the girls to deal with the rest of the guards. Out of the corner of his eye, Natsu caught Erza swipe through two with one swing, taking them out without breaking a sweat. If this was all the castle had to offer in the way of protection, the team really would have an easy time of it.

The dragon slayer stepped over a body, looking down to examine their armor closer. Each guard had a large yellow number painted on their back. Did they have assigned uniforms? He was jerked away from his thoughts by the sound of Gildarts using his crash magic to break through the exterior wall of the castle.

"You haven't thrown a single blow." Natsu noticed as he stepped over the brick rubble. The sound of swords clashing sounded outside while another blast from Mirajane's power rang through the air. Although Natsu had known her in her younger years, the sheer viciousness she possessed when angry still surprised him at times. The sweetheart of the guild was not to be crossed.

"I'm saving it for Daevion." The ginger replied after a moment, his voice grim. "You and I both know any one of us could have taken out all of those guards on our own. I fear what awaits inside might be much more difficult."

"Like tougher guards?" He wondered, scratching the back of his head nervously. It wasn't often that the legendary mage's voice held anything but confidence. The hint of fear in his voice made the dragon slayer anxious.

"Something like that." He mumbled in response, blasting through another wall.

"You know, if you're worried about tougher opponents, maybe you should try being quieter so they don't hear us." Natsu suggested, a hint of annoyance leaking into his voice.

"Remember how I told you the center of this building is set up like a control room?"

"Yeah."

Gildarts motioned to a shining yellow crystal in the corner of the hallway. "See that?"

Natsu nodded, lighting a fire in his hands in case of ambush. If nothing else, he would not be caught unaware. He looked over the rest of the walls, noticing that there were smaller clear crystals scattered round them, implanted into the stone.

"They're camera lacrima. We don't have to worry about getting caught, because every move we make is being watched."

"That sucks!" Natsu groaned, the flames coating his hands flaring. "How the hell are we going to catch him off guard?"

"It's still possible. He may not know what he's expecting. Each one of us held back a lot back there for the fact that we didn't need to go all out. When Mira used her satan soul magic, I thought she was going to wipe them all out in one blow, but she didn't. We may be lucky..." He trailed off, pressing his hand against another wall.

"Are you going to blow through it or not?" Natsu demanded impatiently.

"This wall..." He mumbled, pulling his hand back. "It's not supposed to be here."

"What do you mean it's not supposed to be there?" Natsu demanded, his eyebrows furrowing.

"It wasn't on the blue prints. That means they were inaccurate and there's no telling if we're even going the right way." He said bleakly, turning to the left.

"We'll be able to work our way around it." The dragon slayer assured him. "We have to."

* * *

Mirajane headed towards the entrance of the castle, using her wings to glide over the rubble on the ground. A feeling a fear grew deep in her stomach as she looked at the casualties on the ground before them. Most of them were just stunned, knocked out, but the ground was covered in blood. She felt like something was wrong, like danger was just out of sight, waiting for them inside. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of light as Erza sheathed her sword confidently. The she-devil bit her lip to keep from saying anything.

"Looks like the men have a head start on us." The Titania noted, nodding towards the hole in the wall Gildarts had blasted away.

"It seems so." Mira replied softly, landing on her feet.

"You remember the plan?" She asked, stalling at the entrance.

"It was simple enough." The blue eyed mage reasoned, her hand unconsciously reaching for the place she had hidden the map in her dress before her transformation.

"We better get going so we can catch up. Mavis knows Natsu will just charge in if we're taking too long." She rolled her eyes, entering the castle. The air was still and the hall was quiet, as though no battle had just taken place.

"You should give him more credit." Mira insisted, running the tips of her finger tips along the wall. "Lucy's death has matured him a lot, even more so than Lisanna's."

"I haven't been around him much lately." The crimson haired mage admitted, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. "Not since Lucy, anyway."

Mira watched as the requip mage ran the back of her hand over her eye. Was that a tear? It had never occurred to Mirajane that Erza might have been taking Lucy's death so hard, not that they weren't friends. A chill ran up the she-devil's back, raising every hair on her body. She topped in her tracks, frozen by fear. "Something's wrong."

"I feel it too." Erza said, her pace quickening. "Let's go. Faster!"

Mirajane felt something cold brush against her ankle. She jerked away, using her wings to hover above the floor, but there was nothing there but a faint red glow. "You don't have to tell me twice!"

"I swear to Mavis herself that something just tried to grab my leg." Erza confessed, her voice uncontrolled as they ran down the hall. The she devil glanced down to the Titania's armored boots, catching the familiar red glow again."

"Me too!" Mira said, increasing her gliding pace to match the Titania's. She watched as the red haired mage drew her sword defensively. The shiny metal flashed light into her eyes, temporarily distracting her. Her wing brushed the edge of the hall, catching on a small lacrima mounted to it. She whipped her head around to look at it. It hadn't been glowing red until she touched it.

"Stop Erza." She commanded, landing on the floor as she folded her wings back. "I don't think anything was touching us. I think it was some sort of trap we activated. Look at the walls."

"Lacrima." Erza said, gripping her sword a little more tightly. "They're all over the place. There's no telling how many of them we've tripped."

Mirajane turned to the wall, carefully examining one of the small translucent crystals implanted in it. The crystals themselves didn't give her the same bad feeling that the whole castle did. She cautiously touched one with her clawed finger tips. The crystal instantly glowed red and a light mist seemed to wrap around her fingers before quickly dissipating. "I think they're just meant to scare us, to warn us off."

"Maybe they're some sort of tracking system." Erza decided, sheathing her sword. "Let's try not to touch any more of them in case they activate a more serious trap. Natsu and Gildarts already have a head start on us. Mavis knows he'll have trouble waiting."

Mira nodded, quickening her pace down the hallway. She cast a sideways glance at Erza. Was it just her or did the hallway seem to be getting narrower and narrower?

* * *

Lucy followed behind Natsu, so close their skin would be touching if she were fully there. Gildarts took a sharp turn in front of them, catching the celestial wizard off guard. It was growing more and more obvious to her that Gildarts had no idea where they were going at this point. At least Natsu didn't seem to notice. She looked down at the flames covering his hands and sighed softly. She could almost feel the heat coming from them, but only almost.

The pair paused as Gildarts pressed his hand against the wall. He closed his eyes tight, the harsh look of concentration playing across his scarred face. He muttered something inaudible and pulled his hand back, brushing against one of the clear crystals embedded in the wall. The crystal instantly turned bright red, emitting a glow that was carried by mist.

"Don't touch the walls." The S-class mage's voice came, rough and low. He wiped his hand on his cloak, trying to wipe off something Lucy couldn't see.

"What the hell was that?" Natsu asked, frowning as his flames dimmed. Lucy reached out and put her hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know, but I sure as hell don't like it. They're lacrima of some sort, but I can't tell what sort. Just don't touch the walls, okay." He said, the words coming out like a strict order.

"Whatever." The dragon slayer rolled his eyes, obviously thinking he was being too cautious. Lucy frowned at him, sensing that Gildarts caution was right. Something was off about the entire place.

She followed the pair around another corner, catching an amused look on the ginger's face.

"This is it. He's right past this door." He said, looking up and down the hall. "The layout of the rest of the building may have changed, but he kept this room the same. He's right behind that door. We just need to wait for Mirajane and Erza."

Something in the blonde wizard's stomach twisted, causing her the first real pain she had experienced in months. She grabbed her stomach, leaning on the wall for support. The crystal over her shoulder glowed red, encasing her shoulder in mist. The pain in her stomach was too mad for her to care. It was like she was being sliced open all over again.

Remembering her plan, she forced herself upright, brushing against another lacrima with her hand in the process. "Loke!" She yelled, praying he could hear her.

"Lucy?" He asked, instantly placing his hand on her shoulder to steady her. "What's wrong."

"I have a feeling something very bad is about to happen, and I may need your help."

"I'm not sure how much I can do in this form, but I will try." Loke replied, worry leaking into his voice as he watched tears stream down the sides of his old master's face.

"I think you may need to try to bring me back sooner." She confessed as another feeling of sharp pain ripped through her body. "I think it may be too late if we don't try soon."

"Right now?"

"No." Lucy shook her head, forcing herself upright. "Not quite yet. I have to wait until they attack. Natsu might need me. Just, stay with me?"

"Of course." He nodded, wrapping his arm around her waist. She leaned against him, letting him support most of her body.

"I may not be of much help like this, but I can at least go in unseen."

"Do whatever you have to do Lucy." Loke encouraged, his voice strained, like he didn't believe in the words he was saying.

"I am going to have to reveal myself to Gildarts to talk to Natsu." She realized, a small pained laugh escaping her lips. "And he believes I'm a monster."

 **A/N: I know my updates are coming a lot slower than they used to. I am currently working OVER full time and preparing for NaNoWriMo. Also, my daughter is turning two this month and I am making all of the decorations by hand (because I am apparently that mom) as well as the cake and other food as well as about half of her gifts. I'm super busy! I swear everything will get updated, it's just time consuming and I don't have much free time at the moment. Please be kind with your words and please don't message me to update every day. I'm turning them out as fast as I can.**


	28. The Warning

**A/N: I don't own Fairy Tail!**

 **This may be the last chapter until November is over. NaNoWriMo and real life shenanigans. I'm sorry!**

* * *

Gray bolted upright in the bed, a searing pain ripping through his torso, so familiar the memory of it made him nauseous. The ice mage clamped one hand over his mouth to keep from getting sick. He looked down at his body, realizing that he was still separated from it. A frustrated groan escaped his lips as he forced himself off of the bed. Lucy had suggested staying with his body, but what the hell was that going to do now?

He looked himself over, watching the rise and fall of his chest, artificially manipulated by the tube down his throat. He absentmindedly rubbed his neck, remembering how sore it had been the last time he'd had a tube down it. It was going to be a bitch to recover from, if he ever got the chance to recover from it. He had faith in Natsu and Mira, but even they could only do so much.

With each passing moment the ice mage grew more and more anxious. He strummed his fingers on the side of the bed nervously. What if Mira got into trouble and needed his help? He wasn't much good to anyone in his current state, but he couldn't help but worry. He looked down at his broken body in disgust, good for nothing.

Anger surging though him, he grabbed a small vial from the bed stand and threw it. The ice mage watched as the glass vial shattered, a clear glistening fluid pouring from it. His rage faded, turning into shock as he realized what he had just done. Deep blue eyes stared down at his now shaking hand. What could it mean? He sat on the edge of the bed, flinching as the cushion sunk in under his weight. He glanced over at his body on the bed, confusion rushing through him. How could there be two of him in the same plane of existence?

* * *

Lucy righted herself as the pain subsided from her body, gone as quickly as it had came. She stilled her shaking arms and pulled away from the celestial spirit. "That was odd." She mumbled, staring at the door in front of them. What could be behind the door? She knew it was Daevion, in all of his power, but could he really be that powerful?

"What do you think is behind there?" The blonde asked, turning to Loke.

"I don't know. I'm not exactly up to date on what is going on here. I've been in the spirit world when you've not needed me." The lion admitted with a shrug.

"What if it's a trap?" She wondered, fear flashing behind her brown eyes. "This seems too easy. It has to be some sort of trap. Why would he have four doors into the room? It's like he wants someone to go in there. He's probably got a trap set on each door and this is going to be a disaster."

"Why are you acting so scared?" Loke asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. "If things go south I'll just take you to the spirit world with me. We can at least do that much."

"That's not what I'm worried about." She admitted, looking towards the floor. "I'm worried about what's going to happen to the others."

"Well," Loke sighed, releasing the breath he'd been holding. "If you're worried about it, let's find out what's behind those doors."

"What do you- " A small smile spread across her face. "Of course, Loke! You're brilliant. Like this we can easily just pass through unnoticed."

"Let's go." He said, motioning towards the door in front of them. "I'm going with you of course."

The celestial wizard nodded hurriedly, quickly approaching the door. She paused for a moment, biting her bottom lip. "Maybe we should pass through the wall, instead of the door, just in case."

"Just in case."

Lucy drifted through the wall to the side of the door, Loke close behind her. The room was dark with a man sitting in the center surrounded by lacrima that projected moving pictures onto screens like a security system. Directly in front of him there was a large gray panel, littered with buttons and levers. Her eyebrows furrowed as she wondered what they could possibly be for.

The man himself was much younger looking than she expected. His hair was black and well kept, with just a bit of dark stubble growing across the lower half of his face. He glanced in her direction, giving her a chance to catch a glimpse of his eyes. They were dull gray and lifeless, unnerving in a sort of way she had never experienced before. She felt Loke's hand heavy on her shoulder, shaking her out of her fear.

The walls of the room were mostly bare, with only a few book shelves lining them. Lucy approached one of them, looking over the titles of the books carefully. They were written in a language she didn't understand, something she could see Levy pouring over with a large cup of tea. Her frown deepened as she remembered, days like that were over for her. One book specifically caught her attention. It was bound in light blue and the silver letters that graced it's spine seemed to glow in the darkness. Unable to control herself, she reached out to touch it.

"I wouldn't, if I were you." The voice came, loud and heavy with a tone of authority no one could question.

Her eyes glanced to the side as her body seemed to freeze instantaneously. She felt the hand on her shoulder tighten as she realized they were being watched.

"And you're a fool if you think I can't see you. I made you." He seemed amused now, as he gazed at the pair with blank eyes. Daevion turned his focus to Loke. "Although I don't remember making you, you'll make a nice addition as well."

Lucy's arm dropped from the book shelf as she turned towards him, his cocky words only serving to infuriate her. She opened her mouth, struggling to find the words she wanted so desperately to say to this man. Loke stepped in front of her, looking at Daevion over his glasses.

"I'm here of my own free will and can leave at any time." He stated with a steady voice.

"We'll see." The necromancer replied, pursing his lips. "I'm much more interested in the celestial wizard anyway. It's too hard to resurrect someone who is already immortal, although that's not quite what I do."

"Not quite what you do?" Lucy asked, stepping out from behind Loke. The cockiness in his voice enraged her.

"No," He said darkly. "You see, a soul never really dies, it simply moves on to the after life. What I do, is preventing those poor souls from moving on, after I kill the body of course. Then I use them."

"Use them?" Loke asked, grabbing Lucy's forearm as she tried to take a step forward. "Use them how?"

"Oh. You'll find out soon enough." He said, the corners of his mouth curving upwards into a wicked grin.

"But- You- I-" Lucy stuttered out, trying to get a grip on what was happening.

"You see, I have magic that can control the body, the mind, and the soul, sometimes all at once. I could show you now, but I'd rather wait for your friends. They should be interested to see as well, yes?"

"You're not going to get away with this." Loke warned, his grip on Lucy tightening enough to hold her in place.

"We'll see." He said, the heaviness of his voice returning. "I heard you two talking outside. Don't worry, I've set no traps for your friends. I don't need them."

"How could we trust what your saying is true?" Lucy spit out, glaring at the man.

"If nothing else, I am a man of my word. In addition, I can assure you that nothing your weakling friends do will effect me. You're far outmatched."

"You've never seen Fairy Tail fight then." Loke argued, his temper rising.

"Get out of here. Go warn your friends. Tell them what you know and get out of my sight. I promise, I have plans for you later." He warned, glaring at them.

Lucy took a step back, he body flush with the wall.

"I said get out!" The man roared, his eyes narrowing in a way that made her skin crawl.

She stumbled backwards into the hallway, nearly tripping over her feet.

* * *

"What's taking them so long?" Natsu asked, getting antsy. "I wanna take this guy out already! Every minute we stand out here, he could be getting stronger!"

"Let's not exaggerate. A few minutes isn't going to make him stronger." Gildarts said, his eyes burning a hole into the wall.

"That doesn't mean I like waiting." The dragon slayer groaned, crossing his arms as small flames flickered off of them. The sooner he beat this guy, the sooner he could be with Lucy and everything would be okay again. It had to be.

"Natsu?" A familiar voice came from down the hall. The pair quickly turned to see Lucy walking towards them, Loke close behind.

"What the hell?" Gildarts mumbled, widening his stance in preparation to fight. "This has to be some sort of illusion."

"It's not." Natsu said, not a bit of doubt in his voice. "She's here."

"Stay away." The S class mage warned, his eyes narrowing as she drew closer. The flames Natsu carried flared out, angry that the thought of Gildarts trying to fight Lucy.

"Relax." Loke demanded, peering at them over his glasses. "She's been like this since she died." She informed him, casting the blonde an apologetic glance.

"It's true." Natsu said, stepping forward and wrapping her in a hug, his flames dying down. He planted a kiss on her forehead, but refused to pull away.

"Why wouldn't you tell us about this?" The older mage asked, looking at the three suspiciously.

"You think I'm a monster." Lucy said softly, pulling away from the dragon slayer's embrace long enough to speak clearly. "Whether I appeared here or back at the guild, today or three weeks ago, it wouldn't have mattered. You would have thought the same thing. I heard you and the master talking."

"You don't seem, like what I thought you would." He admitted after a moment, suspicion not leaving his voice. "But how do I know it's really you."

"You don't have to." Natsu warned, turning to glare at him. "If you come near her, you'll regret it."

"Come on," Loke chimed in, trying to break the tension that had grown between the two wizards. "Let's not get carried away. I can confirm what they're saying is true. Lucy is not alive, but not dead either. If what Daevion said wasn't a load of garbage to confuse us, she'd trapped somewhere between life and the afterlife. It seems like her existence overlaps more with this one than with the after life though. She was able to summon me to the same plane because I haven't taken a new master."

"Wait, what Daevion said?" Natsu asked, catching the celestial spirit's eyes. "You've spoken to him?"

"This is unbelievable." Gildarts mumbled, his expression softening.

"Loke and I tried to sneak in unseen, you know, to see what is waiting for us in there." She looked down, an embarrassed look playing across her face. "But apparently he can see me, Loke too, even when we're not forcing ourselves to be visible."

"Damn." Natsu mumbled, pulling her closer. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, but he's cocky as hell." Loke sighed, eyeing the door. "There's nothing waiting behind those doors except for him. I've never seen a guy with a head as big as his."

"Lucy?" Mirajane's voice rang through the hallway. She was still in her satan soul form, a look that would be frightening on anyone.

"Don't worry." Natsu said, looking from Mirajane to Erza behind her. "She's not dangerous, she's just Lucy."

"I don't understand." Erza said, a dead serious look plastered on her face. The dragon slayer stepped in front of Lucy as he watched Erza's hand reach for the hilt of her sword.

"Relax." Gildarts said, finally finding his voice. "We'll explain later. Right now we have an opponent to fight."

"Are you sure?" Erza asked, her glare shifting to the older mage."

"Positive. Everyone, get in your places." He ordered in a voice that was not to be questioned.

"Where do you want us?" Lucy asked, giving him a small smile as a peace offering.

"Actually, I need to go grab your clothes." Loke remembered, a look of panic crossing his face.

"Her clothes?" Natsu asked, looking his girlfriend over. What she was wearing looked more than fine to him.

"To travel through the celestial spirit world, so she doesn't get hurt." He rushed. "Don't wait for me. I'll be right back."

"Just stay with Natsu." Gildarts suggested, deciding not to ask what Loke was talking about.

"Let's do this!" Natsu announced eagerly, watching as the rest of his team hurried off to their respective doors. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on Lucy's cheek before whispering in her ear. "Ready to get back to normal?"

"I've never been more ready."


	29. Wrath of a Dragon

**A/N:I don't own Fairy Tail.**

 **Yeah, I'm really bad at fight scenes. Please refrain from killing and bbqing me. Thanks!**

* * *

Gildarts voice seemed to fill the entire hallway as he counted, each number leaving his mouth slowly, as he seemed to summon strength from around him. Natsu couldn't see him, but he could nearly feel the intensity radiating off of the mage. "One."

Natsu felt the celestial wizard's hair brush against him, so close he could hear her breathing. When this was over, she would be safe. The thought gave him strength, his fists flaming as Gildarts spoke. "Two."

He tightened his fists hard enough that his short finger nails dug into the skin of his palm. On the count of three, they would enter and Natsu would finish him before he had a chance to know what hit him. There was no force on earth that could stop an enraged fire dragon. "Three."

Natsu rushed forward, using his body weight to push against the door. It fell down as though it had only been held up by string, not any sort of security at all. The dragon slayer spotted a man sitting behind a circular desk in the middle of the room. It had to be him. The fact that Daevion refused to turn around only served to increase his rage. He ran forward, leaving Lucy behind as he attacked.

"Fire dragon's iron fist!" He roared, aiming directly for the man's head. No one in the world could survive a direct hit like that, even a powerful necromancer. A loud crunch came from his fist as it connected with something hard a lot sooner than expected.

Erza stopped at the edge of the room, summoning a mass amount of swords in her heaven's wheel armor. "Natsu, get out of the way!" She ordered, eyes locking on her target. A loud cry ripped from her throat as she plunged forward, sending the swords flying in his direction, careful to direct them away from the dragon slayer.

The man at the desk looked up, a wicked grin playing across his face as the swords dropped to the floor before him and disintegrated as though they were made of ash.

Before anyone had a chance to react, Mirajane shot a large black orb his way. Realizing what it was, Natsu staggered back out of the way, gripping his fist against him as the black orb connected. The blast from it sent him staggering back, but the shield remained, unwavering. Did this idiot not intend on fighting at all? An impermeable shield was just as cowardly as running, but no shield would survive the attack he was about to unleash.

The dragon slayer felt a loud roar rip from his throat as he struggled to keep himself under control. For the sake of his nakama, he had to be cautious. Anything too powerful and he would set the whole building ablaze. Cautious wasn't something Natsu did well, but still he could not do nothing.

"Fire dragon's brilliant flame!" He yelled, bringing his hands together hard to form a fire ball. He launched it towards the man at close range, anger pulsing through him as it dissipated.

"What are you, chicken?" He threw a punch at the invisible shield, ignoring the pain in his hand.

The man finally turned to look at him, an amused look playing across his face. "Everyone fights using their best techniques." He said, standing up. "I am purely using mine."

"Is that a challenge?" Natsu asked, glaring. "I could burn this damn place to the ground."

"You could burn this whole place to the ground and the shield would remain. I wouldn't even get over heated. Go ahead and destroy the place." He said, holding his hand over a rather large red lacrima on the desk. "But let's see how easy you fight like this."

"I'm stuck!" Erza yelled, her swords circling around her despite the confined space.

"So am I." Mirajane said, looking at her feet. "I can't move my legs or my shoulder."

"My hand." Gildart's voice came from the corner. He'd been so quiet, Natsu had nearly forgotten he was there. "It's from the lacrima I touched."

"You bastard!" Natsu yelled, his temper flaring out of control.

"Your magic is flaring out of control. I bet you barely have enough control left to not burn this building down. I can see the flames radiating up your arms and I doubt you could stop it if you tried. We're opposites, you and I. My magic is in every way about control." He touched the red lacrima again, knocking the others to the ground, the area's the mist had covered stuck to the ground as though they weighed thousands of pounds. Gildarts struggled to a crouching position, his hand trapped in an awkward position on the floor.

Daevion turned around and laughed darkly as he watched Erza and Mirajane struggle to move with no avail.

"Natsu," Lucy said from behind the dragon slayer, her own shoulder and hand pinned to the floor. He turned his head just long enough to catch her fearful face. "Kick his ass."

The dark wizard raised his finger, writing on the inside of his shield in unfamiliar script. It glowed light blue under his finger tip, seemingly hovering in the air.

"What the hell is that?" Natsu asked, taking a step forward. If he could distract him just long enough to come up with a plan, he might actually have a chance.

"The rest of the spell."

"What spell?" Natsu growled, his anger growing despite his desire to stay in control. He could feel intense magic energy radiating from the back of the room, but ignored it in his rage.

"The one that is going to turn that beautiful blonde back there into my eternal servant, as well as many others, including your little ice make friend." He said, never ceasing his motions.

"Gray." Mira said softly, her form fading back into her normal appearance.

"Natsu, back up." Gildart's voice came from the corner of the room. He stood upright, wires and pieces of metal hanging from his arm. He took a step forward as magic energy radiated off of him, passing his prosthetic hand still pinned to the floor. "I can take down his shield."

"I was wondering when you would attack." Daevion said, his tone dull and lifeless, seemingly unaffected by Gildart's magic. Natsu was forced to his knees, the power overwhelming him. "But you should know, you don't actually intimidate me."

"Then you won't mind if I do this." He said, placing his remaining hand onto the barrier. Collecting all the magic energy radiating throughout the room, he pushed forward, shattering it into countless pieces. The spell remained, floating in the air between them.

Gildarts threw his fist forward, barely effected by the immense amount of magic he had just used. The necromancer dodged it easily, taking the ginger mage by surprise. Daevion used his surprise to his benefit, jumping over the desk before Gildarts got a second chance.

"Come back, you bastard!" Natsu demanded, jumping to his feet.

The dark mage slammed his hand down on one of lacrima on the desk, a devilish grin crossing his face as the girls cried out in pain. "Move a muscle and it gets worse for them." He warned, slightly out of breath.

"Lucy?" Natsu asked, looking at his girlfriend out of the corner of her eye. Her shoulder and hand were turning slowly from red to purple as bruises spread out across them.

"I told you." He said, voice dangerously low. "My magic is about control, and with these Lacrima, I can control exactly what happens to them. It's funny really, that you were the only one who avoided the lacrima embedded in the walls, a useless idiot like you."

"Stop hurting them." Natsu ordered, baring his teeth at the wizard. He couldn't stand to see his friends hurt, especially by someone as worthless as Daevion.

"Don't worry. She won't hurt for long, I only have a few words left on this spell before the blonde is mine. Then I'll take all of you for my army as well."

"Like hell you will." Rage rushed through his veins like molten lava, his entire body shaking. The fire dragon slayer felt sharp pain erupt throughout his body, fading fast, but leaving behind scales across his cheeks and arms. The dark wizard's eyes widened in shock.

Gildarts took the opportunity and slammed his fist into the control desk, using his crash magic to blow it into a thousand parts. He opened his mouth to speak, but Natsu was already attacking.

The dragon slayer lunged forward, his entire body coated in fire so hot even Mirajane and Erza could feel it. He tackled Daevion to the floor, baring his teeth at him just long enough to see the fear in his eyes as his clothes caught fire. Natsu pulled his fist back and slammed it into his face, causing an explosion that made the walls rattle. It wasn't enough. He hit him again, and again, unable to control his anger.

"Natsu." Gildarts said, his voice booming through the room. "That's enough. It's over."

"It's not enough." Natsu said, swallowing his rage long enough to speak.

"There's nothing left of him Natsu." Mirajane's voice came, soft and shaky.

"I don't care." He said, looking down to see that most of the skin had been torn from his knuckes.

"That may be so, but you've caught the building on fire." Erza said, still sitting on the floor to his left. A pained look played across her face as she watched him. "It's over. We need to get out of here."

"Where's Lucy?" Natsu asked, panic filling him as he realized he hadn't heard her voice yet.

"She's not here." Gildarts said, the harsh tone leaving his voice. "But we need to go."

"No." Natsu said, sitting back on the floor defeated. She couldn't be gone, not when he had worked so hard to save her. "I can't lose her again. Maybe Loke got her. Did Loke come back while I was fighting?"

"None of us saw him." Mirajane admitted, a small tear rolling down the side of her face. No doubt she was worried about the fate of her own love.

"Come on Natsu." Gildarts ordered, offering him his hand. "We have to get the girls out of here and they can barely walk."

"But Lucy-"

"Natsu, get up." Erza ordered, pulling herself to her feet. The flames from the fire in the corner of the room were licking up the sides of the bookshelves, slowly surrounding the room with fire. "You made Happy wait back at the camp and he'll be wondering about you. I'm sure Lucy will be fine." Her words seemed real, despite the fact that she had no idea why Lucy was even around.

"Right." Natsu mumbled. He grabbed Gildarts hand and pulled himself up. The dragon slayer looked over to Mira who had at finally managed to sit up. "Do you need me to carry you?"

"Just help me stand up." She said, straining to stay upright. "I think my shoulder may be dislocated."

"Here." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist. Natsu pulled her to her feet and flung her good arm over his shoulder to steady her. He could do at least that much.

"Let's get out of here." Gildarts said solemnly as a beam fell from the ceiling, landing in the corner of the room consumed by flames.

Once outside of the castle, Natsu helped Mirajane into a sitting position on the grass far enough away from the burning building. He collapsed in the grass several yards away, overwhelmed by grief. If Lucy had disappeared, she wasn't going to come back to him again. If he had only waited long enough for Loke to come back, it might not have been too late. His reckless eager actions had likely cost his love his life.

"Just breathe." Erza ordered, her tone soft and maternal.

A loud, strangled cry came from the white haired mage. Natsu whipped his head around in time to see Erza sliding her arm back into socket. She ripped a piece of cloth from Mira's dress to form a sling and placed it around her.

He looked over to see Gildarts holding onto his metal hand, trying to reconnect it to his wrist with clumsy movements. "Do you need help with that?" Natsu asked, wiping away the tears he was trying desperately to hold back.

"No, I think it's pretty hopeless." He admitted in defeat, tossing it on the grass beside himself. "That last attack pretty well crushed it."

"Yeah," Natsu mumbled, forming a fist with his hand. Pain shot down it through to his wrist. He had been sure it was broken after the first punch, the rest likely didn't make it any better. He tensed his hand again, the pain clearing his mind.

"Natsu?" The rough voice came from behind him.

* * *

 **A/N: So, I updated early because NaNoWriMo is going horribly!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this little update, and don't hate me too much for my sucky fight scenes.**

 ****shameless self promotion****

 **If you are here for the Graymi, I have also started a lovely little fic called Deep Blue centering around those two. It is going to get pretty emotionally heavy though, so reader beware.**

 **Prompts, questions, or suggestions? Find me on Tumblr AudreyRhey**


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